Social Media: Deal with It

You ask what are the risks of social media? McDonald's was in the press after an anti-Trump tweet was made on a bona fide McDonald's Twitter account that was later said to have been compromised. United Airlines overbooked a flight. A selected passenger was forcibly removed from the flight and the company's stock value fell almost $1 billion after the video went viral.

The FFIEC guidance on Social Media Risks applies to your bank, and if you have a social media presence, or are considering one, you must know what this guidance says and means. In this webinar, I will walk you through the common application of the FFIEC guidance to your bank, what it means, why it is good advice, and what you need to do.

Search for your bank's name in the social networks and ask employees if they use social media and ever reference the bank. You might be surprised at the results. Is the bank responsible for what is said about the bank and about the bank's employees on social media? It may be, so you have an obligation to monitor.

In this two-hour webinar I will discuss the pros and cons of embracing this technology from the perspective of bank management and risk management. Use of social media by the bank also poses many compliance risks. I will spend time pointing out the risks of advertising in a social networking environment.

Activity from employees on their own social networking sites may be good for exposure, but not if the comments are less than flattering. Can you restrict what employees say on personal pages? Your ethics policy may restrict or prohibit certain comments, but court cases may support the employees' rights. I'll discuss the fine line between the two.

Managing social media risk may be even greater if you opt to include photos on your site of employees and customers. There are legal cases providing guidance for you on this issue and I will discuss them, too.

Proper controls are required to manage the use of social media. I will include a discussion of risk factors, including:

• Policies and procedures needed to address unique issues, such as the risks of online posts, edits, replies and retention
• Managing vendors who may host, manage content or otherwise be involved in the process
• Employee training, and drawing the line between personal and professional social media use
• Oversight controls and reporting
• Specific laws and regulations, such as CRA, that come into play with social media activities.

Related topics we will discuss include:

• Employees' rights to engage in activity under the National Labor Relations Act
• How social media factors into discrimination claims
• How to handle medical information that may come from postings on social media
• What regulatory compliance issues you face in a social networking environment
• And more…

This webinar will help compliance, management, marketing, HR, risk managers and others in your institution make more informed decisions about the use of social media by your institution, and by your employees. What is allowed and what is prohibited aren't always crystal clear. I'll help you recognize what works, what doesn't, and give you the information you need to manage this risk.