Social Media: US

This Social Media policy helps your organization set clear, practical expectations for employees' online activity while staying aligned with key legal guardrails, including employees' rights to engage in protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act and truthful, non-misleading marketing and endorsements principles enforced under the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45) and the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers guidance. You'll see how to protect confidential information, reduce harassment and reputational risk, and handle photos, recordings, and brand references without drafting a policy that's so strict it chills lawful employee speech about wages, hours, or working conditions.

The History Behind Social Media Policies in the US

Social Media policies became a real must-have once personal posting started colliding with workplace rules, and once regulators and courts began treating online speech as evidence of what happened at work. The modern version of this policy also tracks the legal guardrails that sit under Publicity, Media, & Social Media, especially the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) enforcement posture around employee speech about wages, schedules, and working conditions.

The NLRB pushed employers to rewrite early "don't say anything bad online" rules after a wave of cases in the 2010s treated broad social media bans as unlawful interference with protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the NLRA. The Board's approach shifted over time, but the practical takeaway remained: you can police harassment, threats, and disclosure of confidential information, but you cannot write a policy so broad that employees reasonably read it as a gag order on workplace complaints. Employers also learned that screenshots travel faster than investigations, so social media language started to look more like a careful extension of anti-harassment, confidentiality, and communications rules rather than a standalone "PR" document.

Marketing and influencer culture added a second legal track. The Federal Trade Commission polices deceptive or unfair practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act, and its endorsement and disclosure guidance (including "Disclosures 101") made it hard to justify casual "I work here and love this product" posts that read like ads without clear disclosure. That mix of labor law limits, consumer protection rules, and always-on posting is why a Social Media policy is now a baseline best practice for US employers, even when your organization never thinks of itself as a media brand.

Which Law is a Social Media Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Social Media Policy for your US-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. Section 45), and related FTC disclosure guidance for endorsements and testimonials on social media.

How to Write a US-Specific Social Media Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the unique situation of social media use intersecting with the workplace.
• Define what counts as social media and the types of online spaces covered.
• Require employees to follow related workplace policies when using social media.
• Ban threatening, abusive, obscene, or discriminatory posts tied to work or your organization.
• Limit who can speak for your organization and require authorization for official statements.
• Require clear disclosures when employees mention your organization in a way that could look official or promotional.
• Protect privacy, copyrights, and intellectual property, including your organization's.
• Prohibit sharing confidential or proprietary information.
• Restrict use of your organization's logos and branding for personal or promotional purposes.
• Set boundaries for personal social media use during work and on workplace devices.
• State that your organization will not request employees' social media login credentials.
• Discourage managers from connecting with direct reports on non-professional social platforms.
• Limit workplace photos, videos, and recordings without permission, while preserving legally protected rights.
• Explain how to report potential issues and note that violations may lead to discipline, while preserving employees' rights to discuss working conditions.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

You can comply without putting this in your handbook or otherwise publishing it to employees, but including it usually pays off. A short policy helps employees find answers without a ticket to HR, and it helps supervisors handle situations the same way across teams. If you're intentionally keeping your handbook lean, this can live in another easy-to-find policy hub, but make sure employees can actually access it and managers know where to point people. 

Other Considerations

None.

Exceptions

None.