SunGard has launched a social media surveillance and compliance system to help firms monitor and archive content posted by staff on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
The vendor says its Protegent Social Media Surveillance product helps firms manage supervisory regulatory obligations and enforce internal social media policies regardless of the device used to make the posts.
The technology - which was developed with Web archiving specialist SiteQuest - features integrated search and reporting, automated policy alerts, lexicon detection, approval workflow and e-mail notifications.
US regulatory body Finra issued guidance to securities firms and brokers last year on the use of social networking Web sites to communicate with the public.
SunGard says its new technology means financial services firms can manage the watchdog's requirements by tapping tools for moderation and pre-approval of content that may be considered advertisement. Meanwhile, alerting, reporting and archiving capabilities help firms adhere to books and records surveillance requirements.
The role of social media in advertising has also attracted the interest of UK authorities, with the FSA recently insisting financial firms must ensure they provide appropriate risk warnings when using new media to promote products and services.
Last week the difficulty banks are having in adapting to the Web 2.0 world was highlighted by the furore over Commonwealth Bank of Australia's imposition of a draconian new social media policy that held staff personally responsible for comments posted by the individual and their friends in online communities.