Retweet at your peril: Eight FCA social media dos and don'ts

Retweet at your peril: Eight FCA social media dos and don'ts

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has clarified what it deems the right and wrong use of social media for financial promotions - and takes a particularly strict stance on Twitter retweets.

Having U-turned on its previous suggestion firms should include #ad in promotional posts on Twitter, saying the use of the hashtag was inappropriate, the FCA said firms must stick to the principle of communicating in a 'fair, clear and not misleading' way. They must consider whether character-limited media - like Twitter - is appropriate for promoting complex features of financial products or services, it said. "All media have their constraints", the FCA said, "advertisers in all sectors, not just financial services, have to work within the constraints of the medium chosen." Tweets...