A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may have substantial effects on social media censorship. Based on their content-moderation policies, social media platforms have taken actions to suppress certain categories of speech,...more
Social Media has gone from frontier to “settled land of influencers” when it comes to brand promotion. In 2020, social media ad revenues reached $41.5 billion, making up nearly 30 percent of all internet and ad revenue. The...more
In a recent social gathering, your friends took a number of photos and circulated it to the group. You see that one shot by a friend is a particularly great photo of you. You repost to your social media account to share with...more
By now, most people know that advertising on social media requires certain disclosures so as to avoid the ire of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is tasked with protecting consumers from fraudulent, deceptive and...more
We often write about the benefits and pitfalls of social media usage. As companies and big businesses employ social media as an advertising mainstay, one pitfall we frequently encounter is the failure to properly manage a...more
As we previously discussed in our post “The ‘Commander-in-Tweet’ and the First Amendment,” the POTUS was criticized by the Knight First Amendment Institute for blocking certain Twitter users from his @realDonaldTrump account....more
Can you violate the First Amendment by blocking people from your Twitter account? According to the Knight First Amendment Institute, it’s possible if that account is @realDonaldTrump.
As we have mentioned before, Donald...more
Every day, businesses extend more of their services to the internet in an effort to cater to millennials and upcoming generations of consumers. Those in the wine industry are no exception. Though somewhat slow to adopt online...more
Social media has become a must-have medium for most companies and celebrities. The medium provides an easy, inexpensive and instantaneous connection to customers and fans. However, as social media marketing continues to...more
Social media is quickly becoming the way that companies present and market themselves to the world. Companies are also realizing the value social media provides in an easy conduit to communicate with customers. But the same...more
In a March 25, 2016 Order, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California gave Google and Oracle the choice between agreeing to a ban on conducting Internet and social media research on jurors until the trial is...more
We recently wrote about a musician who got into some trouble with a court by using social media to flaunt images of hundred dollar bills after he had filed for bankruptcy. Now, an Atlanta-based rapper known as Rolls Royce...more
3/24/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Dilution ,
Lanham Act ,
Music Industry ,
Popular ,
Rolls-Royce ,
Social Media ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Young Lawyers
We have written previously about the role of traditional discovery roles in “newer” platforms, and how social media content can be discoverable and used in litigation. What about using information from social media in jury...more
At its heart, social media’s purpose is sharing content; however, fair use can only take one so far. A recent case serves as yet another reminder to exercise caution when reposting content, and that, in a litigious society,...more
“Be careful what you post.” This may be the most obvious of social media commandments. Yet, it’s also true that it’s difficult to control the degree of public access to photos and messages posted on a social media platform,...more
Frequent readers of our blog will recall that in prior posts on companies such as Uber, Ashley Madison and Twitter, we have stressed the importance of having a robust terms of service (TOS) agreement. In many instances, TOS,...more
A recently published patent application filed by Twitter provides a possible glimpse into the future of social media and selfies—and it’s a future arriving on the wings of that poster child of modern technology, the unmanned...more
1/28/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
DMCA ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Popular ,
Registration Requirement ,
Safe Harbors ,
Selfies ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Young Lawyers
Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. When it comes to acting on copyright infringement takedown notices, just how fast is fast enough for social media platforms? Some recent (and not-so-recent) cases reveal how difficult the question...more
As user-generated content explodes over the Internet, intellectual property disputes over posting or uploading such content without the owner’s consent continue to escalate. As we touched on in a recent post, social media...more
11/5/2015
/ Copyright Infringement ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DMCA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
News Stories ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Videos ,
Photographs ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Spam ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Liability ,
User-Generated Content ,
Websites ,
Young Lawyers
Brand companies have come to view user-generated content as often one of the most effective and authentic ways to advertise their products or services. This is known as “user-generated content marketing.” For example, with...more
10/27/2015
/ Advertising ,
COPPA ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Corporate Branding ,
Digital Media ,
Hashtags ,
Instagram ,
Minor Children ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right of Publicity ,
Selfies ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
User-Generated Content ,
Websites
We often espouse the value of comprehensive, up-to-date terms of service (TOS) that consistently reflect your current business. And for good reason! Plaintiffs’ attorneys will scrutinize your TOS before helping your users sue...more
10/19/2015
/ Business Entities ,
Business Model ,
Class Action ,
Disclosure ,
Hyperlink ,
Online Advertisements ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Terms of Service ,
Twitter
With live-streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat becoming increasingly popular, the introduction of a “live” element in the social media game is creating unique business and legal concerns. While most of the videos streamed on...more
10/15/2015
/ Cable Television Providers ,
Copyright Infringement ,
DMCA ,
HBO ,
Live Streaming ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Takedown Notices ,
Television Programming ,
YouTube
Do you consider yourself famous? If the answer is no, then you have likely never been concerned with the invasion of your right of publicity. The right of publicity is the right of a person in his or her identity—name or...more
10/8/2015
/ Communications Decency Act ,
First Amendment ,
LinkedIn ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Name and Likeness ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Right of Publicity ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Young Lawyers
Your social media content is not only susceptible to hacking; it’s also susceptible to disclosure requests from civil litigants (see our Sept. 14 blog post for more details) and even prosecutors without your consent if they...more
10/6/2015
/ Appeals ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disclosure ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Rule ,
Facebook ,
Hackers ,
Instagram ,
Internet Privacy ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Stored Communications Act ,
Twitter
When Kim Kardashian speaks, the FDA listens. Or, more precisely, when Kardashian, who has 46.8 million followers on Instagram, posts an enthusiastic endorsement—and advertisement—on the social media platform for Diclegis, a...more
9/24/2015
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Instagram ,
Kim Kardashian ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Pregnancy ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Twitter