Europe takes aim at Facebook — do you have European exposure, too?

As I have long predicted, regulators in Europe are finally begining to move against Facebook.  This is hardly surprising — folks in other jurisdictions beyond our shores are far more serious about privacy than Americans.  This type of conflict was, in many ways, inevitable. 

But this raises, of course, an interesting point: who, exactly, are you marketing to when you put up that website or engage with social media?  The answer is simple: you are marketing to everyone and you are marketing everywhere.  This means that “international exposure” needs to become part of your vocabulary. 

Right now.

We talk about a global economy, and that’s all well and good, but borders do exist.   If you’re shipping things across those borders, you need to be aware of customs and trade issues — including tariffs and other random ugliness.  If you’re transferring customer data across borders, you need to be aware that some countries have strict laws dealing with what you can and cannot do in that regard, even in the context of litigation and discovery obligations (let alone as part of your marketing efforts). 

This also extends to branding — do you have trademark protection in the jurisdictions where you’re selling your widgets and/or services?  Have you checked to make sure you’re not in conflict with the rights of others? 

This is, once again, one of those situations where there is no “correct” way to position yourself.  Rather, it speaks to the need to consider what it is that you’re doing, and to systematically think through your legal obligations when you find yourself moving beyond selling to friends and relatives.  Otherwise, you may find yourself in trouble, and in ways that you never even expected.