I am not very knowledgeable in the social media area of compliance and had an employee ask a question that I wanted to post to others.

Are there any rules/laws/regulations that we need to be looking into for posting pictures of employees on social media or tagging them in a post?

A very simple example would be if we wanted to add a picture to Facebook and wish an employee a "Happy Birthday" or "Congratulations Graduate" and tag them.

Just want to make sure we are looking at everything before we go ahead with it.

Thanks for your time and help!

If it's considered an advertisement you should have a model release. You would also watch what else is in the image, a Coca Cola logo, Nike swoosh, Mickey Mouse, as examples are registered and without permission shouldn't be used. It's a minor risk that you'd have an issue there, but still be aware.

Next issue, does the employee or the bank want it out there? Is it a security issue? "Midwest 123 is seen here celebrating a birthday. 123 has two kids seen here, 456 and 789 by her side. 123 has been in charge of the ABC Bank vault area for 10 years." Is that providing good info, or is it a security risk, exposing the employee and kids to risk?

I'm not saying don't do it, just do it wisely and with your eyes wide open.

Also, if it is an ad, think about all the Regs that apply, EHL logo, Member FDIC, rates, trigger terms, etc.