Socially Aware

November 12, 2015 - Crowdsourcing
Following the Wisdom of the Crowd? A Look at the SEC’s Final Crowdfunding Rules
By: David M. Lynn
This article provides a detailed overview of the final rules, Regulation Crowdfunding, which will be applicable to crowdfunding offerings conducted in reliance on Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the “Securities Act”), which was added by Title III of the Jumpstart
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November 10, 2015 - Disappearing Content
Building a Successful Social Media App: Four Lessons Learned From Snapchat
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Since its launch in 2011, the social media platform Snapchat has generated its share of negative press, with most of that press in some way related to the very characteristic that, at least initially, helped Snapchat to become popular among its mostly youthful user
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October 14, 2015 - FTC, Marketing, Labor Law, Employment Law, M&A, Mobile, IP, Online Endorsements, Securities Law, Bankruptcy, Online Promotions, Terms of Use, Online Reviews, Discovery, Compliance, Litigation
Now Available: The October Issue of Our Socially Aware Newsletter
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware , our Burton Award -winning guide to the law and business of social media, we highlight five key social media law issues to address with your
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October 13, 2015 - Data Security, Privacy
California Passes Four Bills Protecting Privacy Rights
By: Julie O'Neill
Last week was a big one for California’s privacy regime. In a landmark move, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law four bills further protecting Californians’ privacy rights: Three strengthen the state’s data breach notification statute and impose restrictions on operators of automated license plate
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October 12, 2015 - Status Updates, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Online Reviews
Status Updates: People-rating app proves unpopular; new tech automates compelling-photo selection; Twitter 101 for the political class
Bad reviews. On September 30th, the soon-to-be-launched app Peeple was described by the app’s co-founder, Julia Cordray, as a “ Yelp for people ,” that is, a people-rating platform that would allow users to assign number ratings to anyone—anyone at all, fellow Peeple user
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October 07, 2015 - Privacy
ECJ Safe Harbor Opinion Has Implications for All Data Transfers Out of Europe
Yesterday the European Court of Justice (ECJ) followed the core of the Opinion of the Advocate General (AG) in Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner (Case No. C-362/14). In sum, the ECJ held that: 1. Member State Data Protection Authorities (DPA) must be allowed to:
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October 06, 2015 - topics/undefined, Terms of Use
Three Steps to Help Ensure the Enforceability of Your Website’s Terms of Use
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Operators of social media platforms and other websites typically manage their risks by imposing terms of use or terms of service for the sites. As we previously wrote , websites must implement such terms properly to ensure that they are enforceable. Specifically, users must
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October 05, 2015 - Online Promotions, Marketing, Online Reviews, Compliance
How UK Brands That Use Vlogger Endorsements & Social Media for Marketing Can Stay on the Right Side of the Law
Vloggers have become the reality stars of our times. For an increasing number of social media users, what was once a hobby is now a lucrative career. You may be surprised to learn that Felix Kjellberg (aka “PewDiePie”), a 25-year-old Swedish comedian and the
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September 30, 2015 - Cyberbullying, Privacy, Ethics, Litigation
Status Updates: Court nixes VPPA claim; lawyer suspended over blog posts; Facebook ‘unfriending’ cited in bullying decision
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Tale of the tape. The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which requires video service providers to destroy personally identifiable information after a specified time, doesn’t provide a private right of action for plaintiffs whose information was retained beyond that period. So held the U.S.
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September 16, 2015 - FTC, Online Promotions, Online Reviews, Compliance
FTC Continues Enforcing Ad Disclosure Obligations in New Media and Issues a Warning to Advertisers
By: Julie O'Neill
In December 2014, we noted that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) settlement with advertising firm Deutsch LA, Inc. was a clear signal to companies that advertise through social media that they need to comply with the disclosure requirements of Section 5 of the FTC
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