Facebook introduced technology that disables ad blockers used by people who visit the platform via desktop computers, but Adblock Plus has already foiled the platform’s efforts, at least for now....more
8/15/2016
/ Ad-Blockers ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Copyright ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
LinkedIn ,
Mobile Apps ,
PETA ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Software ,
Twitter ,
Web Scraping
Instagram now allows celebrities to block trolls. The rest of us will have to continue trying to ignore Instagram trolls.
While Facebook reached new highs last quarter, Twitter continued to stumble. Will adding more live...more
8/1/2016
/ Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Defamation ,
Emoji ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
LinkedIn ,
Pinterest ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Trolls ,
Twitter ,
Yelp
Facebook Messenger joins the elite “one billion monthly users” club just four years after its release as a standalone app....more
7/25/2016
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Distracted Driving ,
Evidence ,
Facebook ,
Mobile Apps ,
Revenge Porn ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Trolls ,
Twitter ,
User-Generated Content ,
Video Games
Snapchat has caught on with “oldies” (that’s people 35 and older, FYI).
The Chinese government has forbidden online media from reporting news spread on social media sites.
A 14-year-old and his mom are suing...more
Facebook signs more than $50 million worth of deals with media firms and celebrities to create videos for its live-streaming service....more
Lots of press surrounding Microsoft’s purchase of LinkedIn: Will LinkedIn change as a result? Will the Microsoft purchase inspire a Twitter acquisition?
“Spam King” gets 30 months in jail for sending 27 million messages....more
Social media has upended a number of industries. Is Wall Street next?
Facebook is getting into the video game live-streaming business....more
6/10/2016
/ Arrest ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Internet ,
Marketing ,
Offensive Language ,
Personal Brands ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
Websites
The Newspaper Association of America has filed a first-of-its-kind complaint with the FTC over certain ad blocking technologies.
Is it “Internet” or “internet”? The Associated Press is about to change the capitalization...more
Here’s how Twitter is loosening up its 140-character limit.
The federal government will now check the social media history of prospective employees before granting them security clearance....more
Facebook users spend more time on the platform than they spend pursuing any other leisure activity, except TV. Indeed, 1/16th of the average user’s waking time is spent on the platform.
The most disliked movie trailer in...more
Three Steps To Help Ensure The Enforceability Of Your Website’s Terms Of Use -
Operators of social media platforms and other websites typically manage their risks by imposing terms of use or terms of service for the...more
1/29/2016
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforceability ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Harassment ,
Instagram ,
Microsoft ,
Online Contracts ,
Reddit ,
Search Warrant ,
Section 5 ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
Terms of Use ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
Vlog ,
Websites ,
Young Lawyers
Last year, entrepreneurs, companies and courts grappled with questions over content owners’ rights with respect to livestreaming, Yelp reviewers’ anonymity expectations, bankruptcy creditors’ access to business’ Facebook and...more
January is the month when lists—lists of predictions, lists of trends, lists of feats and lists of failures—pervade social media newsfeeds and publications’ headlines. Here at Socially Aware we’re making an annual tradition...more
Social networking platforms have long faced the difficult task of balancing the desire to promote freedom of expression with the need to prevent abuse and harassment on their sites. One of social media’s greatest challenges...more
9/1/2015
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Consent ,
Cyberbullying ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Harassment ,
Instagram ,
Internet Privacy ,
Reddit ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Terms of Use ,
Twitter
Welcome to the newest issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award winning guide to the law and business of social media. In this edition, we present a “grand unifying theory” of today’s leading technologies and the legal...more
7/29/2015
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Creditors ,
Data Collection ,
Data Storage Providers ,
Digital Assets ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Evidence ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hashtags ,
HBO ,
Live Streaming ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Retail Tracking ,
Sanctions ,
Showtime ,
Social Media ,
Spoliation ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter ,
Yelp
There oughta be a law? As we’ve reported previously, states all around the country have enacted laws that criminalize the posting of revenge porn—nude photographs published without the subject’s consent, often by an ex-lover...more
7/22/2015
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Blogs ,
Felonies ,
First Amendment ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Misdemeanors ,
Revenge Porn ,
Search Engines ,
Social Media ,
Tinder ,
Twitter
Hashtags have become ubiquitous in social media, but their status as intellectual property—particularly as trademarks—is still developing. First adopted by Twitter users to link user posts, hashtags are character strings...more
Home(page) renovation. In an effort to encourage return visits from the 150 million Internet users who visit Twitter every month without signing in, the social media giant has revamped its home page. Now, instead of just “a...more
Searching social. At long last, tweets will appear in Google search results as soon as they’re sent, as the result of a deal that the two Internet giants recently struck. As part of its efforts to increase user growth and...more
It’s often said that, when it comes to regulating technology, U.S. laws aren’t up to speed. That includes U.S. trusts and estates laws, which, in many cases, do not say much about what happens to your digital assets after you...more
Social media for minimalists. These days, the information flooding the news feeds on some social media platforms can feel overwhelming and redundant. Take Twitter, for example—a medium whose popularity has resulted in a user...more
Social drinkers. The founder of the Lagunitas Brewing Company decided to drop a lawsuit that he’d filed against Sierra Nevada for trademark infringement after beer drinkers expressed their disapproval of the suit on Twitter. ...more
1/19/2015
/ Beer ,
Copyright ,
Music ,
Reputation Management ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter ,
Video Recordings ,
YouTube
Instagrowth. Instagram’s relationship with Facebook is turning out to be mutually beneficial. Since Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, the photo sharing platform has passed the 300-million-user mark, surpassing...more
Block party. Twitter has revamped its anti-harassment policies to make it easier to report harassment on the network or to block another account. The change follows recent highly-publicized instances of “Twitter harassment,”...more
Invisible hits. What could possibly be meant by the following tweet? “CA-40/43-44/49-44/44-50/36-44/49-10/16/14-52–>49/476-10s.” According to a recent CNN report, GOP groups tweeted such seemingly meaningless gibberish in...more