Socially Aware

October 19, 2020 - Advertising, FCC, Influencer Marketing, Discovery, Free Speech
Turkey’s new social media law; social media ad spend; Harvard Law School’s social media policy
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
In an attempt to shut down free speech online, Turkey enacted a law that requires social media platforms with more than a million daily users in Turkey to open an office there or assign a representative who is legally accountable to Turkish authorities. Among
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February 24, 2020 - Discovery, Litigation
Are Facebook Posts Discoverable? Application of the Forman Test in N.Y.
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
New York courts are increasingly ordering the production of social media posts in discovery, including personal messages and pictures, if they shed light on pending litigation. Nonetheless, courts remain cognizant of privacy concerns, requiring parties seeking social media discovery to avoid broad requests akin
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December 10, 2019 - topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
Foreign Companies Can Use 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to Unmask Anonymous Internet Posters
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A random Twitter account tags a Japanese company and badmouths it in a series of tweets. Because the tweets are tagged, a search of the company’s name on Twitter will display the tweets with the negative comments among the search results. Upset over the
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February 26, 2019 - Advertising, Discovery, Litigation
Social Links: Settlement declares fake “likes” illegal; Pinterest’s impending IPO; a bill to criminalize “social media extortion”
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In what is being described as “ the first settlement to deem such sales illegally deceptive ,” New York Attorney General Letitia James has entered into a settlement with a company that had been selling fake followers, likes and views on several social media platforms.
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January 09, 2018 - Copyright, Discovery, Litigation
Anonymous Internet Users Beware: New Presumption in Favor of Unmasking the Losing Anonymous Defendant
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Following a recent decision from the Sixth Circuit, anonymous bloggers and other Internet users who post third-party copyrighted material without authorization have cause for concern. They may be unable to preserve their anonymity. In Signature Management Team, LLC v. John Doe , the majority
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August 21, 2017 - First Amendment, Hacking, Discovery, Free Speech
Social Links: A seminal opinion on web scraping; Obama breaks Twitter record; court holds state’s subpoena law applies to digital communications
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In an opinion granting a preliminary injunction preventing LinkedIn from blocking a startup’s use of information in LinkedIn profiles accessible to the entire public, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California expressed doubts that a federal anti-hacking law—the Computer Fraud &
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March 08, 2016 - Advertising, Endorsement Guides, topics/undefined, European Union, FTC, Terms of Use, Copyright, Discovery, Compliance
Now Available: The March 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. In this edition, we offer tips for a successful—and legal—advertising campaign; we
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January 11, 2016 - topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
Go Fish: Do General Discovery Rules Apply to a Litigant’s Facebook Posts?
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
While discovery of social media information has been commonplace for some time , courts are still struggling with when such discovery should be allowed. While courts generally hold that normal discovery rules apply to social media discovery, at least one judge has identified—and railed
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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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August 24, 2015 - topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
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
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