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Back to School Early: FTC Seeks Comments to COPPA Rule Ahead of Schedule

By Cecillia X. Xie & Julie O'Neill on August 6, 2019

Advancements in technology appear to have spurred the Federal Trade Commission to initiate a review of its rule promulgated pursuant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (the “COPPA Rule” or “Rule”) four years ahead of schedule. Last week, the FTC published a Federal Register notice seeking comments on the Rule. Although the FTC typically reviews a rule only once every 10 years and the last COPPA Rule review ended in 2013, the Commission unanimously…

Socially Aware Blog

By Winning Motion to Dismiss, Supermodel Loses Chance to Clarify Whether She Can Lawfully Post Photos of Herself to Social Media

By Aaron Rubin on August 2, 2019

A federal district court dismissed a case against supermodel Gigi Hadid for posting to Instagram a photo of herself that was taken by a paparazzo. The reason for the court’s decision was simple: The party claiming copyright ownership of the photo failed to get it registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, a prerequisite to filing an infringement suit against alleged violators. If the plaintiff in the suit had complied with the copyright registration process and…

Socially Aware Blog

Court Holds that Arbitration Clause in “Hybridwrap” Terms Is Unenforceable

By Aaron Rubin & Gilbert J. Choi on July 23, 2019

A federal district court in Illinois recently held in Anand v. Heath that a digital marketing company could not force a user to arbitrate because a “Continue” button on its website did not provide clear notice that clicking the button constituted assent to the hyperlinked terms and conditions that contained the arbitration provision. As we have noted previously, website operators who wish to enforce their online terms against users will have a higher likelihood…

Socially Aware Blog

D.C. Circuit Holds that Section 230 Locks Out Locksmiths

By Aaron Rubin & Scott Chen on July 17, 2019

As we noted in our recent post on the Second Circuit case Herrick v. Grindr, LLC, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) continues to provide immunity to online intermediaries from liability for user content, despite pressure from courts and legislatures seeking to chip away at this safe harbor. The D.C. Circuit case Marshall’s Locksmith Service Inc. v. Google, LLC serves as another example of Section 230’s resiliency. In Marshall’s Locksmith, the D.C.…

Socially Aware Blog

The CNIL Strikes Again – Mind Your Security

By Ronan Tigner on July 10, 2019

The French data protection authority, the CNIL, continues to fine organizations for failing to adopt what the CNIL considers to be fundamental data security measures. In May 2019, the CNIL imposed a EUR 400,000 fine on a French real estate company for failing to have basic authentication measures on a server and for retaining information too long. This is the second fine by the CNIL under the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) after…

Socially Aware Blog

California Court Finds Section 230 Protects Decision to Suspend and Ban Twitter Account

By Aaron Rubin & Reid Knabe on June 27, 2019

A California Superior Court’s recent ruling in Murphy v. Twitter held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shielded Twitter from liability for suspending and banning a user’s account for violating the platform’s policies. As we have previously noted, Section 230 has come under pressure in recent years from both courts and legislatures. But we have also examined other cases demonstrating Section 230’s staying power. The ruling in Murphy again shows that, despite…

Socially Aware Blog

Legislators Propose Narrowing § 230’s Protections, the Law that Gave us the Modern Internet

By Aaron Rubin on June 25, 2019

As we have frequently noted on Socially Aware, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects social media sites and other online platforms from liability for user-generated content. Sometimes referred to as “the law that gave us the modern Internet,” Section 230 has provided robust immunity for website operators since it was enacted in 1996. As we have also written previously, however, the historically broad Section 230 immunity has come under pressure…

Socially Aware Blog

Social Links: Suit over “embedded tweet” with Tom Brady’s photo settles; brand agency manipulates Wikipedia; evidence from Instagram wins French rock star’s kids a share of his estate

By Julie O'Neill on June 11, 2019

In March, Socially Aware reported on a lawsuit involving several prominent news outlets’ publication of a photo of NFL quarterback Tom Brady on Twitter. The case had the potential to upend a copyright and Internet-law rule that, in the words of a Forbes columnist, “media companies had viewed as settled law for over a decade.” Read exactly what common-law copyright rule the case called into question, and how the Tom-Brady-Twitter-photo lawsuit concluded without resolving…

Socially Aware Blog

Nevada Enacts CCPA-Style Opt-Out Right for Consumers—but Similarities Are Few

By Julie O'Neill & Max Phillip Zidel on June 10, 2019

Nevada just joined California as the second state to enact an opt-out right for consumers from the “sale” of their personal information. Senate Bill 220, which was signed into law on May 29, 2019, is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2019, three months prior to its precursor under the California Consumer Protection Act (the CCPA). The opt-out right is one of several changes made to Nevada’s existing online privacy law, which…

Socially Aware Blog

Youth Protection in Germany: Are Online Age Checks & Daytime Blackouts Ahead?

By Andreas Grünwald & Christoph Nüßing on May 24, 2019

Last week, German regulators decided to no longer accept the widely used “JusProg” software as a sufficient means for online service providers to comply with statutory youth protection requirements. The decision is effective immediately, although it will most likely be challenged in court. If it prevails, it puts video-sharing platforms, distributors of gaming content, and online media services at risk of being held accountable for not properly protecting minors from potentially harmful content. For the…

Socially Aware Blog

The Law and Business of Social Media

Blog Authors

Back to School Early: FTC Seeks Comments to COPPA Rule Ahead of Schedule

By Winning Motion to Dismiss, Supermodel Loses Chance to Clarify Whether She Can Lawfully Post Photos of Herself to Social Media

Court Holds that Arbitration Clause in “Hybridwrap” Terms Is Unenforceable

D.C. Circuit Holds that Section 230 Locks Out Locksmiths

The CNIL Strikes Again – Mind Your Security

California Court Finds Section 230 Protects Decision to Suspend and Ban Twitter Account

Legislators Propose Narrowing § 230’s Protections, the Law that Gave us the Modern Internet

Social Links: Suit over “embedded tweet” with Tom Brady’s photo settles; brand agency manipulates Wikipedia; evidence from Instagram wins French rock star’s kids a share of his estate

Nevada Enacts CCPA-Style Opt-Out Right for Consumers—but Similarities Are Few

Youth Protection in Germany: Are Online Age Checks & Daytime Blackouts Ahead?

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