NBC News calls Bradley Shear the “public face” to stop employers and schools from being able to require employees or students provide their personal Facebook usernames and passwords to apply for a job or a scholarship. Bradley is a lawyer, consultant, and social media expert who counsels individuals, corporations, governments, and others on digital technology issues.

Bradley’s analysis is regularly requested by the media. Some of the news organizations that have utilized his commentary include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The BBC, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, MSNBC, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, and Roll Call.

In 2010, Bradley’s expertise was requested by the State of Maryland to draft the first social media political advertising regulations in the country. Bradley worked with state regulators to ensure that its goals were achieved without negatively affecting the online advertising industry. His efforts were so successful that Facebook, AOL, and Google publicly supported the regulations he drafted.

When Bradley became aware that employees and students around the country were being required to provide their personal Facebook usernames and passwords and/or download social media monitoring software to apply for a job or to keep their college scholarship he started the movement to stop these practices. Acting in a pro-bono capacity, Bradley has lobbied state and federal lawmakers to pass legislation that protects personal social media privacy while also shielding businesses and schools against frivolous social media related lawsuits. His efforts have directly led to Maryland, Illinois, Delaware, and California passing legislation to stop these practices and at least 15 states to introduce social media privacy bills. Because of his work, Bradley has become a trusted adviser to state and federal lawmakers across the country regarding social media public policy.

During a chance encounter with U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, Bradley persuaded the Congressman that the entire country would benefit from national social media privacy legislation. Subsequently, he worked with U.S. Rep. Engel’s office on U.S. HR 5050-The Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA). This legislation would protect the personal digital privacy rights of employees and students while also shielding businesses and schools from some social media legal liability. This groundbreaking bill is the first national legislation of its kind in the world.

Bradley’s professional digital experience commenced at the height of the initial tech boom in the late 1990’s. During this time, he worked at the National Football League Players Association where he first learned about the Internet legal and marketing issues that professional athletes encounter. Subsequently, Bradley worked for J.P. Morgan Chase and a digital entertainment start up.

He is a member of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center For Internet and Society’s Online Media Legal Network, is on the Board of Advisors for the University of Baltimore’s Center for Sport and the Law, and is an adjunct professor in the MBA program at The George Washington University. Bradley’s blog, “Shear on Social Media Law” is syndicated by the publisher of the National Law Journal and the American Lawyer and is the first publication to focus on social media law and public policy.

Bradley is based in the Washington, DC area where he advises clients regarding social media law and public policy issues, along with digital advertising, business, intellectual property, privacy, entertainment, and sports matters.