FTC Continues Enforcing Ad Disclosure Obligations in New Media and Issues a Warning to Advertisers
- 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... ›
Federal District Court Strikes Down Law That Bans Ballot Selfies
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire recently struck down on First Amendment grounds a 2014 amendment to New Hampshire Revised Statute 659:35 that made it illegal for New Hampshire voters to post pictures of their completed ballots to social media.... ›The Top Social Media Platforms’ Efforts To Control Cyber-Harassment
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Social networking platforms have long faced the difficult task of balancing the desire to promote freedom of expression with the need to prevent abuse and harassment on their sites. One of social media’s greatest challenges is to make platforms safe enough so users are... ›Status Updates: Appeals court upholds anti-cyberbullying law; better marketing through neural networks; restaurant owner turns the tables on Yelp critic
Positive I.D. The tech world recently took a giant step forward in the quest to create computers that accurately mimic human sensory and thought processes, thanks to Fei-Fei Li and Andrej Karpathy of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. The pair developed a program that... ›“Notes” Update Shows Facebook’s Continued Efforts to Increase Already Impressive User Engagement
By: Aaron P. Rubin
As the number of social media platforms continues to grow, users’ online activity is becoming increasingly divided, requiring social media companies to prove to potential advertisers that they not only have a lot of registered users, but that those users are engaged and spending... ›Social Media E-Discovery: Are Your Facebook Posts Discoverable in Civil Litigation?
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Judge Richard J. Walsh began his opinion in Largent v. Reed with the following question: “What if the people in your life want to use your Facebook posts against you in a civil lawsuit?” With the explosive growth of social media, judges have had... ›Federal District Court: “Browsewrap” Terms and Conditions Provide Sufficient Notice to Defeat False Advertising Class Action
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Websites sometimes present their terms of use (“TOU”) to users merely by including a link to those TOU on the website without requiring users to affirmatively accept the terms by, for example, checking a box or clicking an “I accept” button. As we have... ›Washington State Court Refuses to Unmask Anonymous Online Reviewer
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Washington Court of Appeals in Thomson v. Doe refused to grant a motion to compel brought by a defamation plaintiff who had subpoenaed the lawyer-review site Avvo.com seeking the identity of an anonymous online reviewer, holding that, for a... ›- - FCC, Compliance
FCC Clarifies Its Interpretations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Provoking Strong Objections From the Business Community
By: Tiffany Cheung and Julie O'Neill
On July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a 140-page Omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order in response to more than two dozen petitions from businesses, attorneys general, and consumers seeking clarity on how the FCC interprets the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).... › Status Updates: AZ’s anti-revenge-porn law scrapped; civil rights claim against blogging prosecutor dismissed; Match buys PlentyOfFish
By: Aaron P. Rubin
There oughta be a law? As we’ve reported previously, states all around the country have enacted laws that criminalize the posting of revenge porn—nude photographs published without the subject’s consent, often by an ex-lover seeking retribution. To avoid running afoul of the First Amendment,... ›