`05-editorial-legal-framework.md`

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# Beverly Hills Videos — Editorial Standards & Legal Framework

Written in response to a red-team flag: the content plan names attorneys, cosmetic-medicine providers, and businesses. Naming specific professionals/businesses in a recommendation context carries **FTC disclosure** and **defamation** exposure. This framework must be in force before ANY video that names a specific business/practitioner is produced or posted. (Video #1 brand-intro names no one → legally clean.)

## 1. Editorial independence (state it publicly)
- Add to the TikTok bio/site: **"Independent editorial. We are not paid to feature any business unless explicitly marked #ad / Sponsored."**
- Keep a written wall between editorial picks and any paid placement.

## 2. FTC disclosure (hard rules)
- Any video featuring a business that has a **financial relationship** with Beverly Hills Videos (advertiser, affiliate, comped service, gifted) MUST carry a clear, conspicuous disclosure: on-screen "#ad" or "Paid partnership" AND spoken/caption disclosure. Not buried in hashtags.
- Affiliate links → disclose the affiliate relationship.
- "Comped" or gifted experiences count as material connections → disclose.

## 3. Defamation / claims discipline (naming professionals)
- **Attorneys / doctors / medspas:** state only **verifiable, sourced facts** (credentials, public reviews with attribution, board certifications). NO superlatives presented as fact ("the best," "the heaviest legal firepower") unless framed as clearly-labeled opinion or backed by a citable ranking.
- No implication of misconduct, ever.
- **Right of publicity (California Civil Code §3344):** do NOT use a named person's name/likeness to imply endorsement of Beverly Hills Videos without permission.
- Medical/legal content = **informational only**, never advice. Add "not medical/legal advice."

## 4. Trademark / footage rights (feeds the b-roll gate)
- Do not imply brand endorsement by showing a logo/storefront.
- All b-roll must be **owned, licensed, or clearly fair-use editorial**. No scraped/unlicensed imagery in a published video. (This is why Video #1 is typography-only for now.)

## 5. Music rights
- Use TikTok's **Commercial Music Library** only (a Business account is restricted to it anyway). No arbitrary copyrighted tracks.

## 6. Minors / private individuals
- No identifiable private individuals featured without consent; blur incidental faces where practical.

## Application to the current plan
- ✅ Video #1 (brand intro) — names no one, no footage → clear to finalize once voice is decided.
- ⚠️ Video #5 (cosmetic medicine) & Video #8 (attorneys) — **rewrite to category-level / sourced-fact framing**, remove "the best / heaviest firepower" superlatives, add "informational, not advice," until disclosure posture is confirmed.
- ⚠️ Any restaurant/nightlife/shop feature — confirm editorial vs paid; disclose if paid.