Privacy Expectations as an Influencer
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From dealing with internet trolls to keeping home addresses out of view, here is what influencers need to know about maintaining their privacy while building their business online.
What is Online Privacy?
Although this may sound like an oxymoron, online privacy refers to the control of personal information on the internet. For some, maintaining online privacy may be as simple as switching their Instagram accounts to private, but for those who make their living off of being active on social media, it’s a little more complicated.
Balancing your online persona with the need to keep some aspects of your life private may seem like a never-ending juggling act. Here are some ways you can protect yourself while making money online.
Influencers and Online Privacy
While becoming an influencer sure has its perks, entering the public forum does come with a price: an erosion of your personal privacy. It may feel as though your public and private life blurs together as you try to connect and build relationships with your followers.
Online privacy may look a bit different for influencers and other content creators, but there is still a need to balance what is shared with the public and what is kept private. For some influencers, avoiding showcasing much of their house, neighborhood, and/or car maintains the needed disconnect from the online audience, especially trolls. Hiding their children’s faces also works for some. What works for you depends on your comfort level. It is important to ask yourself, “What information about me do I not mind out there forever?”
Balancing Free Speech and Online Privacy for Influencers and Content Creators
As an influencer or content creator, you may be wondering what is legally allowed to be shared about you online without you signing off on it.
In other words, what can someone who finds personal details about you post and get away with it?
Well, anything that is public record is freely available for those who go look for it. This would include age, date of birth, address, spouse’s name, even certain court records—all of which might be lawfully posted online without your permission. You may be asking yourself why, and the answer is because of the First Amendment (Freedom of Speech). The First Amendment applies to internet speech as much as it applies to speech offline.
However, those postings would not be lawful if the information was posted for the purpose of harassing or causing you to suffer harm or distress, or if it was posted in a manner which is reasonably likely to harass, harm, or cause you to suffer extreme nuisance or danger.
You may be thinking this is great news, and any troll posts or websites containing your personal details can get shut down, but it is unfortunately not that simple. Very rarely does the distress, although very much warranted, amount to the requisite level needed to take down a post.
For example, for most people, especially influencers and other content creators, having their home addresses published online would cause them to suffer distress, but typically that distress is not really the type or severity that the law intends to protect against. Rather, the law is mostly intended to protect those who feel in imminent danger, although not necessarily required. That being said, it would still definitely be possible to win in that type of claim, but ultimately it would be a difficult process.
On the bright side, there are claims that are possible to pursue if the private information posted amounts to defamation, points to interference with someone’s business, includes information that’s protected by intellectual property, or a misappropriation of image and likeness.
Additionally, there are rules on message boards and forums about what’s permitted to be shared. Depending on the forum or website, influencers may be able to report posts for doxxing, intellectual property violations, sharing personal information about their children, or posting defamatory information.
When Influencers Need to Draw Boundaries and Take Legal Action
Although the First Amendment protects a large amount of speech, there are some claims available to you. The first is a defamation claim. The First Amendment does not protect against false statements that hurt a person’s reputation, which allows a defamation claim against anyone who posts things about you online that are not true.
The only thing is that in order to be successful, you need to prove that you were damaged as a result of the false statements. For example, if as a result, you lose a job due to false information that someone posted about you, then you likely have a successful defamation claim. The harm needs to be calculable. It is important to seek a lawyer’s advice to see if your situation amounts to a claim.
The second is a claim available is misappropriation of image and likeness or a violation of intellectual property. This occurs when someone is profiting off of your persona or your brand/nae=me without your permission. If you find someone making money off of your brand without you first consenting to it, you likely have a claim against that person for misappropriation of image and likeness. Again, it is wise to contact a lawyer first to see if your facts align with this type of claim.
Tips for Securing Your Privacy Online
CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS
Some states have enacted laws that limit the ability to publish private facts about a person in order to preserve personal privacy, so check with your state’s statutes if someone has posted personal details about you online.
USE A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT (NDA)
When collaborating with vendors in your home, brands or other content creators, signing a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) is essential. This legally enforceable agreement obligates a person to keep confidential information quiet, and may lay out consequences in the event of a violation of the agreement.
AVOID IDENTIFIABLE EXTERNAL HOUSE/VEHICLE CONTENT
When filming content, consider leaving out of your pictures/videos your mailbox, cars, license plates, front door, any street signs, and anything that may indicate where you live.
PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN’S PRIVACY AT SCHOOL/ACTIVITIES
If you post about your children but don’t want your audience to know where they go to school, make sure your content doesn’t show teacher’s names, school emblems, logos on uniforms, or sports teams/extracurricular activities.
USE A P.O. BOX FOR BRAND COLLABORATIONS
If you’re an influencer that often collaborates with brands, consider purchasing a P.O. Box to ship all collab items to. This may avoid any potential leaks of your address.
SECURE PASSWORDS
If you believe there has been a breach in your personal data, changing your password to your social media accounts and emails should be one of the first steps.
GET A SECURITY SYSTEM
Purchasing a home security system is never a bad idea, especially if you had personal information posted about you online that may risk your safety.
The risk of being an influencer or brand is that you’re putting yourself out there. While that’s part of the business, it’s also part of the risk. Knowing your privacy rights and mitigating an invasion of privacy are part of the influencer lifestyle. Kahn Media Law helps influencers and brands protect themselves and their families maintain their right to privacy.