Companies would be legally remiss not to add a social media component to their corporate compliance and ethics program. As we have seen and reported on, agencies such as FINRA, the FTC, and the NLRB are bringing complaints against companies arising from their social media activity or employee related activity, thus, highlighting the need for companies to demonstrate that they are exercising due diligence to promote ethical conduct and prevent criminal conduct in the context of social media activity [e.g. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, § 8B2.1].

The following list is a good starting point, however, there may be additional items that a social media attorney will recommend you include in your policy depending on the nature of your business. A companion article to this one, for example, includes additional items that government contractors should have in their social media policies.