In what may signal regulators’ growing focus on advertisers’ use of social media, particularly in regulated industries, on July 29, 2010, the FDA issued its first Facebook-related citation in connection with Novartis’ use of Facebook’s share function on its Tasigna® website. By clicking on the “share” button on the website, consumers could post Novartis-created information about Tasigna® (“Shared Content”) on their Facebook profile walls, which would then be sent to the consumers’ “friends” via the newsfeed. It also allowed a consumer to send a separate message containing the Shared Content to their “friends” on Facebook. The FDA cited four (4) ways in which the website and the Facebook “share” widget violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the FDA implementing regulations: (i) omission of risk information, (ii) broadening of drug indication, (iii) unsubstantiated superiority claims/overstatement of efficacy, and (iv) failure to submit. Read more »
If you’re new to marketing and not sure which social media to use to advance your company’s interests, take a look at this handy guide from cmo.com. The guide gives thumbnail sketches of (and ratings for) many of the leading social media options, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and Del.icio.us.
Our law firm, Frankfurt Kurnit, just hosted a fantastic Gotham Media digital breakfast panel on the business of social media. Eighty media, entertainment, and technology executives jammed our boardroom and 50 more watched Gotham’s “live stream” over the Internet. Panelists included David Berkowitz of 360i, Gene DeRose of House Party, Dave Ford of Branded Evolution, Phil Pearlman of StockTwits, Philippa Smith of Juicebox Jungle, and our own Jerry Spiegel. The panel zeroed in on social media companies that are profitable or nearing profitability as a result of advertising, subscription, and premium service models. They explained when social media projects need to be vetted by lawyers (with a particular focus on paid-for blogging and the FTC Endorsement Guides). How social media plays are often spontaneous, born with no commercial mission, and resisted at first. And how brands use social media for “awareness,” “loyalty,” and “conversion (with a big shout out to Live Nation’s recent SM initiative). And you know your law firm’s breakfast series has arrived when the people in the room are tweeting it. Visit Gotham Media Ventures for information on upcoming breakfasts, including the soon-to-be-announced 2010 Digital Media Forecast on January 14th.
FDA, Social Media | editor | 
August 9, 2010 1:50 pm | 
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