by Sandra Gonzalez
Google+ pages: Should the life sciences industry be concerned?
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube . . . the list of social networking platforms continues to grow and now Google has its own. In an effort to take "[a] leap forward in building relationships between businesses and people[,]" Google recently launched Google+ Pages ("Google+"). So, what does Google+ mean for the life science industry? To date, forty million users, including a number of life sciences companies, have signed up and created pages for themselves and/or their businesses. Will Google+ be a new source of liability or a great new way to interact with industry members and consumers? The answer is both.
Google+ is a social networking hub that allows users to connect through three key features, some of which are similar to those in Facebook. First, Google+ is centered around “circles,” which are similar to Facebook’s “friends” feature. The circles provide the basis for Google+ interactions and they are created and maintained by each user. For example, a Google+ user (“user”) that is a member of the life sciences industry could create the following circles: employees, consumers, healthcare professionals, investors, and industry members. The user places each member it connects with in one or all of these circles and this placement determines the information that the member can see. Second, posts and comments are placed in each circle’s “stream,” which is similar to Facebook’s “wall.” Streams are visible to all members of the circle. For example, when a life sciences company places a post in its healthcare professional circle’s stream, it can only be viewed by healthcare professional circle members. However, posts can be “reposted, ” or taken out of a circle and shared with other members, even without user’s permission. Although reposts appear to be problematic for life sciences companies, Google+ recently announced that it is rolling out a feature that allows you to “lock” your post before sharing it, therefore, eliminating the risk of unauthorized reposts. Third, Google+ has a “hangout” feature that allows for group video chats. Hangouts are initiated by a Google+ user who then invites members of its circle to attend. However, once the invitation is sent, those invited could forward the invitation to anyone. Although Google+ allows users to block specific members from the hangout, it does not allow users to disable invite forwards.
The potential benefit of Google+ is obvious. The life sciences industry can reach new and different audiences while applying specific rules for communications with each different audience. For example, the company that creates circles for employees, consumers, healthcare professionals, investors, and industry members can apply specific controls to each and limit the information that is visible by the circle. Furthermore, companies can take extra steps to lock posts and disable, or at least preview, comments before they are posted. Thus, Google+ provides a great platform for companies to get information out to the public in a controlled manner without some of the known risks associated with Facebook, which generally no longer provides life sciences companies with the ability to disable comments. However, companies should proceed with caution. For instance, hangouts could still present some difficulties for life sciences companies because the user still cannot disable invite forwards. In addition, the life sciences company must fully understand the nuances of Google+ in light of its business model before it can gauge the risk it will take.
Sandra González is an associate of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman and a member of the firm’s Life Sciences Compliance, Commercialization and Regulatory Counseling Department. She is also a compliance services specialist for the firm’s subsidiary Porzio Pharmaceutical Services. Ms. González counsels pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology manufacturers on compliance with various federal and state laws.
