Facebook Issues New Guidelines for Running Promotions on its Platform

As Facebook continues to grow in popularity, more companies have started to run various types of sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions on the Facebook Platform. Whenever a company runs — or even advertises — a promotion on a third-party platform, such as Facebook, the company must ensure that the promotion complies not only with applicable laws, but also with the platform’s terms and conditions. Up until recently, though, there wasn’t any clear guidance on what companies could or could not do on the Facebook Platform. That all changed in November when Facebook issued a detailed set of Promotions Guidelines.

The Promotions Guidelines specify what types of promotions can and cannot be run on the Facebook platform, as well as what types of activities will require companies to obtain prior written approval from Facebook. If your company wants to take advantage of the popularity and reach of Facebook to publicize or administer a promotion, you need to make sure that you comply with the Facebook Promotions Guidelines, as well as all applicable laws. Failure to do so can result in termination of your company’s rights on Facebook.

Click here for a summary of the Promotions Guidelines and here for a copy of the Promotions Guidelines themselves.