Welcome to Socially Aware

Socially Aware is devoted to the law and business of social media, proactively addressing emerging issues and keeping our clients informed of new developments. We cover fields such as artificial intelligence, privacy and data security, Section 230, intellectual property, and much more.

February 19, 2013 - Privacy
Dear Facebook, Could You Please Forget I Exist?
By: Alex van der Wolk
Europe is currently undergoing a significant reform of its privacy regime. Under the current European Union (EU) Privacy Directive , individuals already have broad rights curtailing companies’ ability to process their personal data. The proposed EU Privacy Regulation seeks to broaden these rights even
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February 19, 2013 - Event
Social Media 2013: Addressing Corporate Risks – New York City Presentation
Please join Socially Aware editor John Delaney as he chairs Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) “Social Media 2013: Addressing Corporate Risks.” Issues to be addressed at the conference include the following: Social media: How it works, and why it is transforming the business world Drafting
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February 14, 2013 - DMCA, Terms of Use, Copyright, IP, Litigation
Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
If you want to use those pictures you found on Twitter, beware. A federal judge in New York recently held that taking photos from Twitter to use for a commercial purpose infringes the photographer’s copyrights. On January 14, 2013, Judge Alison Nathan ruled that
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February 07, 2013 - FTC, Privacy, Litigation
FTC Announces Important Settlement With Social Networking App and Releases New Mobile App Report
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a potentially groundbreaking settlement with the social networking app Path and released an important new staff report on Mobile Privacy Disclosures late last week. The FTC’s Settlement with Path suggests a new standard may be on the near-term
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February 07, 2013 - Privacy, Litigation
You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable Products Outside Scope of Song-Beverly Act
By: Purvi G. Patel
Handing a victory to online retailers, on February 4, 2013, the California Supreme Court held in a split decision that online transactions involving electronically downloadable products fall outside the scope of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act ( Apple v. Superior Court (Krescent), S199384 ).
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February 04, 2013 - Privacy, Financial Institutions
Watch What You Tweet: Proposed Social Media Guidance for Financial Institutions
By: Nathan D. Taylor and Julie O'Neill
With the explosive growth of social media, consumers increasingly expect to be able to interact online with the companies from which they buy goods and services. As a result, financial institutions have begun to explore the use of social media, both to strengthen relationships
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February 03, 2013 - Privacy, Employment Law, Litigation
Socially Aware Looks Back: The Social Media Law Year in Review
2012 was a momentous year for social media law. We’ve combed through the court decisions, the legislative initiatives, the regulatory actions and the corporate trends to identify what we believe to be the ten most significant social media law developments of the past year–here
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January 23, 2013 - Trademark, Privacy, Copyright, IP, Litigation
Be Wary of Sharing: Anonymous P2P User’s Motion to Quash Subpoena Denied
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing system that enables the quick downloading of large files, has sparked another novel controversy stemming from copyright-infringement claims brought against its users. Users take advantage of the BitTorrent sharing system to anonymously access popular media such as books and
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January 17, 2013 - Privacy, Litigation
Jailbreak: U.S. Google Executives’ Italian Convictions Overturned
On December 21, 2012, the third Milan appeals court acquitted three U.S.-based Google executives who had previously been convicted for breaches of Italian data protection law after Google failed to remove an abusive video from its Google Video site. The video, which showed schoolboys
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January 17, 2013 - Event
Social Media 2013: Addressing Corporate Risks
Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. However, along with the exciting new marketing opportunities presented by social media come challenging new legal issues. In seeking to capitalize on the social media
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Welcome to Socially Aware

Dear Facebook, Could You Please Forget I Exist?

By: Alex van der Wolk

Social Media 2013: Addressing Corporate Risks – New York City Presentation

Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

FTC Announces Important Settlement With Social Networking App and Releases New Mobile App Report

You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable Products Outside Scope of Song-Beverly Act

By: Purvi G. Patel

Watch What You Tweet: Proposed Social Media Guidance for Financial Institutions

By: Nathan D. Taylor and Julie O'Neill

Socially Aware Looks Back: The Social Media Law Year in Review

Be Wary of Sharing: Anonymous P2P User’s Motion to Quash Subpoena Denied

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

Jailbreak: U.S. Google Executives’ Italian Convictions Overturned

Social Media 2013: Addressing Corporate Risks