Facebook updated their Promotions Policy in 2011. The new changes affect the way that any brand or company, no matter the size, can run contests and sweepstakes.

Under the new policy, promotions on Facebook must be administered within “Apps on Facebook.com.” Facebook also requires:

• a complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant;
• acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook;
• disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook;
• and that its features or functionality cannot be used as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a page or checking in to a place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant. It can, however, be a condition of entry.