Advertising Law Blog

Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are gaining in popularity with companies and individuals using these valuable tools as a quick and cost-effective way of promotion and advertising. While such sites are no doubt extremely valuable marketing tools for any company, the informal nature of the sites and the ease by which they can be updated often leads to mistakes and careless errors.

Justin Bieber and Spike Lee's recent controversial tweets are just two examples of tweets gone wrong. In Justin Bieber's case, while promoting his new single, he used his Twitter account to send a message to his 19 million followers. "Call me right now," he tweeted, and included a Dallas-area phone number, replacing the last digit replaced by a question mark. Rapid Bieber fans began dialing the number, guessing the last digit. Of course, the number had nothing to do with Justin Bieber, but many Dallas residents received thousands of calls. Many of those residents are now threatening to bring legal action against Bieber.

In a similarly unfortunate Twitter incident, Spike Lee tweeted the address of an elderly Florida couple, claiming that it was the home of Trayvon Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman. The error forced the couple out of their home after their address was published. Lee has since agreed to settle with the couple for an undisclosed sum.

Although Twitter is fast and easy to use, it is important to check all tweets for accuracy.
If you are a public figure, or you are using your Twitter account for your business, keep in mind that you are using it for promotional purposes. Therefore, make sure what you are tweeting is accurate and does not infringe someone else's rights.