There are may lessons in data broker Speko's recent $800,000 FTC settlement, a copy of which is available here. First, collecting data from online and social media in the context of employment screening implicates the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which among other things requires notice to the candidate if an adverse action was based on reports of such information. For more explanation, see FTC discussion here and here. Next, Speko was alleged to have engaged in deceptive advertising by, among other things, failing to follow the FTC's Endorsement Guides, which include guidance on posting of comments that could be understood as endorsements in social media and requiring disclosure in the post of any material connection between the person posting and the company promoted. For more information, see FTC discussion here. For information on the tension between the rights of employees and a company's need to regulate social media use by employee and others it engages, see our recent Client Advisory "Employers Need to Review and Revise Social Media, Blogging and Privacy Policies after NLRB General Counsel Report"