Social media marketing has become an integral part of any good public relations campaign. Where a few years ago, only cutting edge brands were engaging customers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms, now we're hard-pressed to find a brand, small or large, that doesn't have a presence on the social arena. As marketers, we have an obligation to stay on top of changes in platform policies and monitor any legal issues that could potentially put our clients in hot water.

Our colleague, Pace Lattin, has agreed to let us share with you a recent article, published on Performance Marketing Insider, which details some legal changes that may affect the way we do business as Facebook marketers:

According to legal analysts, there is a law being passed which could in theory make many types of affiliate marketing a federal felony. In theory, many types of marketing, which don’t fall under the terms and conditions of sites and social networks, could be prosecuted under the Department of Justice, for as much as three years in federal prison for each instance.

The issue here has to do with the Computer Fraud and Abuse act of 1986, which was originally made to prosecute and convict hackers, has been expanded over the years to include almost any type of “unauthorized access.” While this is currently just a misdemeanor, and the DOJ ignores these cases unless they are in combination with “real” crimes, that might be changing. Well, congress is about to expand this law to make it a felony, and make any “excess unauthorized access” a federal felony.

Check out the full article over at Performance Marketing Insider, and let us know what you think about these changes.