Clean Up on Aisle 7: Costco’s Electronic Posting Policy Chills Protected...
As we have explored through previous posts, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Lafe Solomon, has issued previous reports with guidance on what employers should not include in...
View ArticleDon’t Tag Me, Bro: Get Permission Before Posting Pictures
In the social media world, tagging a friend in a particularly unflattering picture is considered a breach of etiquette. For companies, the stakes are even higher. As tempting as it might be to post a...
View ArticleHot Dog! NLRB Issues Employer-Friendly Ruling in First Facebook Firing Decision
As we have previously discussed on this blog, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel has generated substantial publicity by issuing complaints in cases involving social media. However, because the cases...
View ArticleEmbedded Liability? Site Owners May Not be Liable for User Links to...
Last month, artist Christopher Boffoli filed suit against Twitter for contributory copyright infringement, alleging it failed to take down unauthorized copies of his images posted on Twitter and to...
View ArticleArticle 15
I’m genuinely honored to be speaking today together with such an impressive group of speakers at the SMU Corporate Counsel Symposium. I’m on at 3:15 to talk about hot topics in social media law - in a...
View ArticleFacebook Sued over Newly Launched “Want” Button
You can’t always get what you want, and sometimes just wanting can be problematic. Facebook was sued in federal court on Friday for its recent launch of a “Want” button – a feature that lets users...
View ArticleOPPA!: Regulating Privacy Policies for Mobile Apps in California
As noted often in this blog, privacy policies are fertile grounds for missteps, litigation and regulatory/criminal enforcement procedures. Whereas many companies worry primarily about Federal Trade...
View ArticleTwo Courts UnLike Social Media Discovery Requests
Social media has exploded in recent years, and with it, so has its potential use in litigation—in areas as wide-ranging as divorce, securities, or personal injury. By now, there has been a litany of...
View Article#Transparency: Twitter Modifies its DMCA Procedure to Point Out Copyright...
Twitter announced on November 2nd that it was revising its takedown procedures under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c). Twitter’s new Copyright and DMCA Policy indicates that...
View ArticleDon’t Delete That Post! The Duty to Preserve Social Media Evidence
A 2010 study[1] estimated that nearly 65% of Fortune Global 100 companies maintain an active Twitter account, and nearly 54% have Facebook fan pages. As evidenced by these numbers, social media is...
View ArticleCalifornia Judge “Likes” Facebook Settlement; Privacy Advocates, Not So Much
On December 3, 2012, a California judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement of a class action lawsuit over Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories” feature. In the lawsuit (Fraley v. Facebook, Inc.,...
View ArticleCEOs, Your FB Posts Matter
In the latest instance of social media and the law converging in unexpected ways, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, may have run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulations with a...
View ArticleInsta-Regret: Instagram Backpedals on Plans to Use Members’ Photos in Ads –...
Facebook’s popular photo-sharing service Instagram incurred a furious backlash when it revised its Terms of Service in December to allow it to use members’ photos in ads without compensation. The...
View ArticleStanding Challenges On The Rise
“Cookies” used to mean only a dessert. A “thread” used to refer only to a thin sewing yarn. Like with the technology industry, the legal industry often assigns significant meaning to a more common...
View ArticleGripes on Yelp Prompt Controversial Rulings
Consumer reviews posted on the popular website Yelp have sparked recent litigation in Florida and Virginia. One case concerned the admissibility of Yelp reviews as evidence, and the other raised the...
View ArticleGhostbuster: Automatically “Disappearing” Messages Are Still Discoverable
This month, Snapchat, an application that allows users to send self-destructing photographs and videos (“snaps”) that expire within 10 seconds of viewing, became the third most popular free photo and...
View Article100 Words or Fewer: California’s Privacy Policy Regulation
Can you write a privacy policy in 100 words? How? No adjectives? Short sentences? Bullet points? As discussed previously in this blog, the California Online Privacy Protection Act (“OPPA”) requires...
View ArticleTexas Bill Would Make Service via Facebook the Law
Texas lawmakers will consider a bill that would specifically allow for service of legal process via Facebook or other social media sites. House Bill 1989 was introduced earlier this week by Rep. Jeff...
View ArticleGone, But Social Media Not Forgotten: Social Media Estate Planning Update
In my June 11, 2012 SoMe blog post, I wrote about the necessity of including social media assets in an individual’s estate planning process. Only a handful of states have laws addressing social media...
View ArticleState Supreme Court Decision Offers First Amendment Guidance for...
A February 28, 2013 decision issued by the Virginia Supreme Court, which arose out of a disciplinary action instituted by the Virginia State Bar, contains a groundbreaking discussion of the application...
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