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.

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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January 16, 2013 - Employment Law
Social Media and the National Labor Relations Act: What Employers Need to Know in Drafting and Updating Their Social Media Policies
This article was first published by ALM Media Properties LLC in Internet Law & Strategy (January 2013). For over a year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been taking employers to task for intruding too far into employees’ social media activities. The NLRB’s
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January 10, 2013 - FTC, Privacy
FTC Issues Substantially Revised COPPA Rule, Effective July 1, 2013: Review of Changes and Compliance Tips
By: Julie O'Neill
On December 19, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”) announced long-awaited amendments to its rule implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“Rule”). The changes—which take effect on July 1, 2013—are significant. They alter the scope and obligations of the Rule in a number
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January 08, 2013 - Litigation
Facebook ’em, Danno: Federal Court May Decide Whether Citizens Have First Amendment Right to Use Social Media to Publicly Criticize the Hawaii 5-0
By: Jessica Kaufman
On top of a presidential election, protests over Instagram’s terms of use, and the invention of gloves that can translate sign language, 2012 also brought to light interesting constitutional issues involving public entities’ use of social media when a citizens’ group filed suit against
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December 18, 2012 - FTC, Privacy
FTC Snuffs Out Online “History Sniffing”
By: Julie O'Neill
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on a company that was engaged in “history sniffing,” a means of online tracking that digs up information embedded in web browsers to reveal the websites that users have visited. In a proposed settlement with Epic
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December 16, 2012 - Trademark, Section 230 Safe Harbor, IP, Litigation
Google AdWords Decision Highlights Contours of the CDA Section 230 Safe Harbor
In a string of cases against Google, approximately 20 separate plaintiffs have claimed that, through advertisements on its AdWords service, Google engaged in trademark infringement. These claims have been based on Google allowing its advertisers to use their competitors’ trademarks in Google-generated online advertisements.
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December 09, 2012 - FCC, Litigation
FCC Rules That Opt-Out Confirmation Text Messages Do Not Violate the TCPA
By: Tiffany Cheung and Julie O'Neill
Waves of class actions have recently alleged that the delivery of an opt-out confirmation text message violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Thus, a Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) Declaratory Ruling finding that a single opt-out confirmation text does not violate the TCPA comes
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December 05, 2012 - Litigation
PeopleBrowsr Wins Round One Against Twitter
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
The Superior Court of the State of California has entered a temporary restraining order requiring Twitter to continue to provide PeopleBrowsr with access to the Firehose, Twitter’s complete stream of all public tweets. Through the Firehose, Twitter provides third-party access to over 400 million
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December 03, 2012 - Litigation
Which Side Are You On? Employers and Employees Battle Over Ownership of Social Media Accounts
When an employee uses a social media account to promote his or her company, who keeps that account when the employee leaves? Perhaps more importantly, who keeps the friends, followers and connections associated with that account? Three lawsuits highlight the challenges an employer may
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November 21, 2012 - Infographic, Statistics
Infographic: The Growing Impact of Social Media
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