Socially Aware

May 24, 2019 - European Union
Youth Protection in Germany: Are Online Age Checks & Daytime Blackouts Ahead?
By: Andreas Grünwald and Christoph Nüßing
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
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May 20, 2019 - Advertising, Trademark, Artificial Intelligence, Data Security, Hacking, Defamation, Fair Use, Litigation, Right of Publicity
Trademarks as hashtags; influencer sues company allegedly depicting him in an ad; new uses for AI technology
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A federal district court in California has added to the small body of case law addressing whether it’s permissible for one party to use another party’s trademark as a hashtag. The court held that, for several reasons, the 9th Circuit’s nominative fair use analysis
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May 15, 2019 - European Union, Copyright
The EU Copyright Directive Passes – But Member States Remain Split on Upload Filters
By: Christiane Stuetzle and Patricia C. Ernst
The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Directive) was finally approved by all EU legislative bodies on April 15, 2019. Introducing “modernizing EU copyright rules for European culture to flourish and circulate” was a key initiative of the European Commission’s Digital Single
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April 30, 2019 - Digital Content, topics/undefined, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
Appeals Court Again Upholds Section 230 Protections in Case Against Grindr
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Often hailed as the law that gave us the modern Internet , Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act generally protects online platforms from liability for content posted by third parties. Many commentators, including us here at Socially Aware , have noted that Section
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April 16, 2019 - Advertising, First Amendment, European Union, Influencer Marketing, Copyright, Free Speech, Compliance, Litigation
Social Links: An EU law to protect copyright owners online; collecting biometric data without running afoul of the law; influencers’ attempts to appear more authentic
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
A new law in Australia makes a social media company’s failure to remove “abhorrent violent material” from its platform punishable by significant fines. The law also states that the executives at social media companies who fail to remove the content could be sentenced to
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April 05, 2019 - Disappearing Content, Ephemeral Messaging
How to Comply with the Revised Ephemeral-Messaging Provision in the DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy
By: Charles E. Duross, James M. Koukios and Lauren A. Navarro
In early March 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revised its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy (the Policy). First announced in November 2017, the Policy is designed to encourage companies to self-report FCPA violations and to cooperate with the DOJ’s FCPA
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March 21, 2019 - Advertising, Class Actions, Copyright, Right of Publicity
What’s in a (User)Name?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
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 these new platforms in
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March 19, 2019 - Advertising, Digital Content, Cyberbullying, Privacy, Big Data, COPPA, Free Speech
YouTube disallows ads on anti-vax content; privacy bills aim to extend children’s protections from Internet harm, secure users’ control over data
By: Julie O'Neill
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 how many had criminalized
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March 14, 2019 - European Union, Data Security, Privacy
The Cookie Wall Must Go Up. Or Not?
By: Alex van der Wolk, Mercedes Samavi and Philip Radlanski
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 items the ePrivacy Regulation
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March 08, 2019 - FTC, Data Security, Privacy, COPPA
Thank You, Next Enforcement: Music Video App Violates COPPA, Will Pay $5.7 Million
By: Julie O'Neill
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 app company Musical.ly for
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Youth Protection in Germany: Are Online Age Checks & Daytime Blackouts Ahead?

By: Andreas Grünwald and Christoph Nüßing

Trademarks as hashtags; influencer sues company allegedly depicting him in an ad; new uses for AI technology

By: Aaron P. Rubin

The EU Copyright Directive Passes – But Member States Remain Split on Upload Filters

By: Christiane Stuetzle and Patricia C. Ernst

Appeals Court Again Upholds Section 230 Protections in Case Against Grindr

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: An EU law to protect copyright owners online; collecting biometric data without running afoul of the law; influencers’ attempts to appear more authentic

By: Anthony M. Ramirez

How to Comply with the Revised Ephemeral-Messaging Provision in the DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy

By: Charles E. Duross, James M. Koukios and Lauren A. Navarro

What’s in a (User)Name?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

YouTube disallows ads on anti-vax content; privacy bills aim to extend children’s protections from Internet harm, secure users’ control over data

By: Julie O'Neill

The Cookie Wall Must Go Up. Or Not?

By: Alex van der Wolk, Mercedes Samavi and Philip Radlanski

Thank You, Next Enforcement: Music Video App Violates COPPA, Will Pay $5.7 Million

By: Julie O'Neill