Social Media Clauses in Prenuptial Agreements

July 7, 2014
Louis Sternberg

In an ideal, perfect world, marriages last forever. In the real world, however, it is a sad reality that there is a 50/50 chance the average couple – that being you and the love of your life, your soul mate, your knight in shining armor, your perfect match – will not survive as a legally-married couple. That’s why the nation-wide rate of prenuptial agreements is on the rise over recent years.

More recently, the once stigmatized prenup has evolved to maintain its relevancy in the ever-changing landscape of social media and digital identities. Trending now, pun intended, is “social media clauses” agreed to by new couples in prenups as recently reported by Fox News.

Typically, a social media clause may contain language stating both partners agree not to post, tweet, instagram, tumble, or otherwise share via the currently popular social media positive, negative, insulting, embarrassing, or flattering photos, videos, or comments of the other partner. Depending on your wealth, a spouse could be facing at a hefty penalty of up to $50,000 for breaching one of these “social media clauses.”

Social media clauses are designed to protect reputations, both personal and professional. The horror stories are numerous and often heartbreaking, but rarely centered on spouse-on-spouse misconduct in such settings. As the landscape of Internet interactions continues to develop in our everyday lives, the need for such precautions becomes a near necessity for those with career paths and professional images to maintain. Whether it be a nasty secret revealed on Facebook to colleagues by a husband scorned or an embarrassing, but good-natured childhood photo posted by a well-meaning wife, such actions now come with a lofty price tag and possible grounds for legal action.