As consumers increasingly communicate and interact through social media platforms, courts have had to grapple with how to apply existing laws to new ways of communicating, as well as disseminating and using content. Sometimes, however, traditional legal standards apply to
Socially Aware Blog
The Law and Business of Social Media
The Socially Aware Blog, published by Morrison & Foerster LLP, focuses on legal developments at the intersection of social media, technology, and consumer protection. It covers topics such as evolving auto-renewal laws for subscription services, social media platform policies and rebranding, intellectual property issues related to online content embedding, legislative challenges to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and emerging consumer contract regulations in digital services. The blog analyzes regulatory changes, court decisions, and policy debates affecting social media companies, digital platforms, and consumers, with attention to privacy, content moderation, copyright, and technology-driven legal challenges.
Latest from Socially Aware Blog - Page 9
YouTube disallows ads on anti-vax content; privacy bills aim to extend children’s protections from Internet harm, secure users’ control over data
New York is now one of the 43 states where “revenge porn,” the posting of explicit photographs or videos to the Internet without the subject’s consent, is punishable by law. See how far the states have come – find out…
The Cookie Wall Must Go Up. Or Not?
One of the next big items in Europe will be the expansion of “ePrivacy,” (which, among other things, regulates the use of cookies on websites). While the ePrivacy reform is still being worked on by EU lawmakers, one of the…
Thank You, Next Enforcement: Music Video App Violates COPPA, Will Pay $5.7 Million
The cost for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) has been steadily rising, and companies subject to the law should take heed. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a record-setting $5.7 million settlement with the mobile…
Time to Hit Pause: Copyright Infringement on User Generated Platforms – When Is the Platform Provider Liable for Damages?
In 2019, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) is expected to clarify one of the key open issues in EU copyright law: the extent to which online platforms such as YouTube can be liable for copyright infringement caused by user-generated
…
Social Links: Settlement declares fake “likes” illegal; Pinterest’s impending IPO; a bill to criminalize “social media extortion”
By Aaron Rubin
In what is being described as “the first settlement to deem such sales illegally deceptive,” New York Attorney General Letitia James has entered into a settlement with a company that had been selling fake followers, likes and views on…
California AG Hosts Two More Public Forums on CCPA in Riverside and Los Angeles
The California Attorney General continued its series of public forums regarding the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), with forums last week in Riverside (January 24, 2019) and
Los Angeles (January 25, 2019). As in the previous forums, there were a
…
California Attorney General Holds First California Consumer Privacy Act Public Forum
In anticipation of preparing rules to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act, the California Attorney General recently announced six public forums that he will host in January and February 2019 across California. On January 8, 2019, the AG hosted the…
Section 230 Survives to Fight Another Day Following California Supreme Court Decision
By Aaron Rubin
As we have noted previously, the California Court of Appeal’s Hassell v. Bird decision in 2016 upholding an injunction requiring Yelp to remove certain user reviews was discouraging to social media companies and other online intermediaries, as well as…
A Morrison & Foerster/Socially Aware Data Protection Masterclass Webinar
By John Delaney & Aaron Rubin
Just over a month after the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect, California passed its own sweeping privacy legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.
The Act stands to affect countless global companies doing business in California,…