Protection of Customer Data

Depends on the jurisdiction, the EU has very high data protection standards and hiring a community manager helps establish forum norms. As for protection, there are different approaches depending on what is important (confidentiality, integrity of data/comments, or availablity). Unfortunately US has had a bad press when it comes to respecting the data jurisdiction of other countries so it may be an uphill battle.

First question, what kind of personal data will you be collecting? Do you have a disclaimer in place for your terms of use? What kind of standards and controls do you currently have in place for folks to participate? How is the data being stored? Who audits the controls?

If it's just an online community, I can't imagine sensitive data being housed. Can't they sign in anonymously?

Keep in mind, that websites that houses SSN, CC#, IPs and birthdates, have a higher risk of breach, than an online community. My suggestion is to have folks agree to Terms of Use before they participate, outlining that personal information is not encouraged to be posted in the online chat and that your organization is not responsible for data stolen if they don't adhere to guidelines. In the end, it's all protecting not only your customers, but your brand equity as well.