Who is responsible for the content posted or published through social media by Coffee News franchisees?
Coffee_News Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
It is acknowledged that the Franchisees are responsible for their own content posted or published through the social media and are responsible for complying with all laws and regulations and third-party site terms and conditions. Coffee News will not have any liability for the Franchisee's use of social-media sites. Additionally, Coffee News does not have responsibility or obligation for monitoring Franchisee's compliance with such laws, regulations, and third-party terms and conditions. Any approval by Coffee News of the use of social media sites or monitoring thereof does not constitute a representation that the Franchisees are in compliance with these laws, regulations or terms and conditions. The Franchisees are responsible for monitoring their own employees, representatives, agents, etc. to ensure compliance with these requirements set forth in the Policies.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 36–118)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Coffee News' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are responsible for the content they post on social media. This includes complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and third-party site terms and conditions. Coffee News will not be liable for a franchisee's use of social media sites, nor does it have an obligation to monitor a franchisee's compliance with these laws, regulations, and terms. Franchisees are also responsible for monitoring their own employees, representatives, and agents to ensure they comply with these policies.
This means that if you become a Coffee News franchisee, you will need to be very careful about what you and your staff post online. You'll need to stay up-to-date on the latest social media laws and regulations, and you'll need to make sure that your content is accurate, truthful, and not misleading. Failure to do so could result in legal action against you or damage to the Coffee News brand.
Coffee News does reserve the right to monitor franchisees' social media use to protect its brand. They can remove, or require a franchisee to remove, any content that violates the Social Media Policy, violates laws or regulations, or that Coffee News feels is inconsistent with the use of its trademarks or logo. Franchisees must also post disclaimers stating that the views and content of their social media sites are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Coffee News.
While franchisees are responsible for their social media content, Coffee News may require franchisees to post or use content provided by Coffee News to maintain brand consistency. Additionally, any goodwill generated from a franchisee's social media account belongs to Coffee News, which reserves the right of ownership to the franchisee's social media accounts, the content within, and the associated domain names.