New poll on our Facebook page - what's your view?

http://www.facebook....p;id=206744336030398

Posted 27th May 2011, 14:21:51

I'm generally not in favour of social media sites imposing restrictions on the users about how they use them. So why should Facebook interfere with pharma - let the companies work it out for themselves.

Worst case...the pharma companies will just retrench off Facebook now.

Posted 1st June 2011, 21:08:07

You do have a point there - it is slightly against the grain of social media to impose things on people, but then it's also against the grain to not let people have their say.

So six of one, half a dozen of the other.

In any case, a Facebook page where people can't comment is a bit of a waste as it won't get much attention, IMO - you might as well just have a display website.

Posted 11th June 2011, 17:16:06

I think it's a big mistake by Facebook to go down this route. There are many good reasons why pharma comps don't want comments appearing on posts - it's a heavily regulated industry like many others and the liability sits with the company for such comments.

Facebook is going to shoot itself in the foot with regards to getting companies on board with moves like this in my view.

Posted 16th June 2011, 18:46:51

But does liability sit with the company for such comments? Tricky legal area and one that is likely to change quite a lot in the next few years IMO.

Posted 23rd June 2011, 18:46:00

How can a pharma company be expected to take responsibility for what others say? Common sense must surely apply - is pharma expected to record everything every patient on its drugs says as they go about their day and take responsibilty for their comments? Of course not, so why should the internet be any different.

Just because something is said on the internet people need to realise it isn't necessarily true!!!!

Posted 29th June 2011, 17:19:58

@steve9 what you're saying makes a lot of common sense. The challenge for pharma (and every other industry) I guess is that age old legal systems are struggling to cope with the pace of social media in the modern world and there simply aren't enough test cases yet to set precedent. So I think it's still kind of fuzzy as to whose responsibility comments on a page are!

Posted 7th July 2011, 17:32:16

Companies that let the lawyers take over are heading down a slippery slope though, lawyers should never be dictating your business direction!

Posted 10th July 2011, 07:11:32

@steve9 - agree but the harsh reality is that finance and legal have a pretty big impact on the direction of most companies. And where lawyers aren't sure about something they always go on the safe side, that's what they're paid to do. So until there's more clarity from a legal perspective around responsibility for comments it's going to hold back pharma (with the regulators probably waiting on higher level legal guidance too).

Posted 19th July 2011, 17:14:35

Understood, but legal teams are crippling some pharma companies right now to the point where they can't actually function. It's kind of the "don't speak to anyone or say anything" school of compliance. Pretty daft.

Posted 28th July 2011, 16:52:17

Just to lob in another angle, could Google + take advantage of the rule changes on Facebook to make it a more attractive place for pharma companies to be?

Thoughts?