The Op-Ed: FDA Really Will Issue Social Media Rules

from Pharmalot by Ed Silverman

 

Remember how the FDA, more than once, insisted that social media guidelines were on the way? This has become akin to Waiting For Godot. The agency, however, may yet get its act together. But when? And how might this play out? Brian Reid, a director at WCG, an integrated communications firm, and a social media maven, offers some possibilities…
Two years ago, FDA watchers were atwitter: the agency had announced it would, in less than four months’ time, issue long-awaited guidelines (read here) on how companies could use social media to promote their products and educate the public. Speculation was rampant about how the FDA would deal with a world of “likes” and 140-character Twitter missives.

The deadline came and went (see this), though the agency told reporters that the new rules were among its “highest priorities.” But that high priority didn’t get tackled in 2011, and – with a new year looming – it looks like won’t be tackled in 2012, either. As a consequence, marketers have largely given up on the FDA. Companies have either decided to forgo social media altogether or move ahead with a play-it-safe strategy unlikely to raise the hackles of the agency.

But the wait for guidance may be coming to an end, thanks to a little-noticed provision in the FDA reform bill passed last summer (look here). In the legislation, the agency is directed to come up with social media rules by the summer of 2014 or face congressional scorn. The date you can circle on your calendar is July 9, 2014.

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The Op-Ed: FDA Really Will Issue Social Media Rules