Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments.He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.Aaron has been recognized by numerous publications for his work on market-defining technology transactions. He is currently ranked by Chambers USA for “Technology Transactions.”Aaron also serves as co-editor of Socially Aware, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics. Aaron is also a sought-after speaker on new and emerging areas of law, and is a frequent presenter and panelist at conferences and legal services programs. In addition to his active practice, Aaron regularly provides pro bono assistance to various nonprofit and charitable organizations such as Common Sense Media and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.While in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Aaron served as executive editor of the California Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Aaron served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both United States District Judges for the Northern District of California.

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Aaron is the chair of our Technology Transactions Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data– and technology–intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud computing, AR/VR, AI, gaming, healthcare, consumer electronics, social media, e–commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin–offs, and private equity investments.

Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence Gallick is of counsel in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in both California and New York. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. He advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. His clients include technology, media, and communications companies with considerable intellectual property assets. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of licensing and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He also regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to mobile applications and social media.

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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.

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Lawrence W. Gallick

Social Links: Statehouse v. Smartphone

Federal Court Enjoins California Teen Privacy Law . . . Again

All Your Sale Are Belong to Us - Mitigating IP and Payments Risk in In-Game Economies (Part II – User-Generated Content and In-Game Payment Models)

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California’s Assembly Bill 587 Loses Key Provisions After Legal Challenge from X

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The U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-1194_08l1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unanimously held</a> that a North Carolina law that the state has used to prosecute more than 1,000 sex offenders for posting on social media is unconstitutional <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/19/15830286/supreme-court-north-carolina-sex-offenders-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">because it violates the First Amendment</a>.The U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-song-idUSKBN19A1VA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied certiorari in what has become known as the  “dancing baby” case</a>—a lawsuit brought by a woman who sued Universal Music Group for directing YouTube to take down a video of her toddler-age son dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” The high court’s decision leaves in place the decision of the <a href="http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FCO%2020150914123/LENZ%20v.%20UNIVERSAL%20MUSIC%20CORP." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals </a>holding that copyright owners must consider the possibility of fair use before sending a DMCA takedown notice.Queen Elizabeth II proposed to Parliament <a href="https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/uk-new-laws-could-remove-embarassing-facebook-pictures-of-your-youth-queens-speech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a law that would require social networking sites to honor Internet users’ requests</a> to remove anything the users shared before turning 18. The European Union already requires search engines to abide by users’ requests to remove information as part of the “right to be forgotten,” but the information must fulfill several criteria to qualify for removal.In an effort to minimize the extent to which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social bots</a> can manipulate public opinion, Germany plans to update its communication laws to <a href="https://a9t9.com/blog/social-bots-law-identify-automated-social-media-postings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">require the operators of social media platforms to identify</a> when posts were generated by social bots and not actual people. And, yes, the name in German for this labeling requirement is Kennzeichnungspflicht.In other German social-media-news, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/world/europe/germany-36-accused-of-hateful-postings-over-social-media.html?_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">police in that country raided the homes of 36 people accused of posting on social media hate speech</a> that included threats and harassment based on race and sexual orientation, and left-wing and right-wing extremist content.Making Texas one of 18 states to pass a bill on self-driving cars, Lone Star State governor <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/15/lawmakers-clear-way-driverless-cars-texas-roads-and-highways/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Greg Abbott signed a bill confirming that car manufacturers may test autonomous vehicles on Texas roads</a> and highways.Bitcoin’s price might be surging, but <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-19/bitcoin-is-digital-gold-but-will-you-buy-a-sandwich-with-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it has yet to achieve widespread usage</a>.Motivated in part by her desire to avoid real-estate-agent fees, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/3843335/homeowner-to-sell-her-house-by-streaming-it-live-on-facebook-and-its-completely-legal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a London homeowner plans to sell her house by hosting a viewing on Facebook Live</a> and receiving offers through Facebook Messenger.

Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.

Aaron Rubin

Social Links: SCOTUS strikes down law banning sex offenders from social media, denies cert in “dancing baby” case; Germany may require ID of status updates posted by “bots”

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a North Carolina law that the state has used to prosecute more than 1,000 sex offenders for posting on social media

Social Links: SCOTUS strikes down law banning sex offenders from social media, denies cert in “dancing baby” case; Germany may require ID of status updates posted by “bots”

Instagram is now allowing a limited number of users to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-sponsored-posts/?utm_content=buffer872d2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identify branded content with a “paid partnership” subhead</a> instead of using hashtags like #ad and #sponsored to identify sponsored posts. The platform says it plans to police paid sponsors’ <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2015/12/21/influencer-marketing-tips-for-a-successful-and-legal-advertising-campaign/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disclosure obligations</a> eventually, but—for now—educating and gathering feedback from Instagram’s community and launch partners is all Instagram hopes to achieve with the branded content tool.Authorities in Helsinki plan to debut in the autumn what will be the world’s first regular driverless transportation system to reach the masses: <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/15/15810912/driverless-self-driving-bus-finland-helsinki-transportation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public, autonomous-bus services</a>. Will the job of “bus driver” one day join the list (along with “silent movie piano accompanist,” “elevator operator” and “switchboard operator”) of <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2017/01/25/tech-not-trade-threatens-american-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">occupations rendered obsolete by new technologies</a>?On free speech grounds, a German parliamentary body <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-socialmedia-hatecrime-idUSKBN195227" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struck down a draft German law</a> that would have imposed up to 50 million euros in fines on social media companies that failed to remove or block racist and fake news posts within 24 hours or seven days, depending on whether the content’s racist or false nature is unambiguous.To ensure President Trump’s tweets from the official @POTUS account and his personal account are preserved for future reference, <a href="https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-introduces-covfefe-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rep. Mike Quigley has introduced the COVFEFE Act</a>, which would amend the President Records Act to include social media posts—a change that would ensure the President’s deleted tweets are documented for archival purposes and would make deleting tweets a violation of the Presidential Records Act subject to disciplinary action.In a <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/06/hard-questions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on its “newsroom” page, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/15/facebook-censorship-terrorism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook published a list of seven “Hard Questions”</a>—inquiries that address many of the most pressing issues today’s social media companies face, from the definition of “fake news,” to the <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2015/03/10/who-will-update-my-status-when-im-dead-the-biggest-social-media-platforms-policies-on-deceased-user-accounts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fate of deceased users’ accounts</a>. The post instructs readers to weigh in by emailing Facebook at <a href="mailto:hardquestions@fb.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hardquestions@fb.com</a>.Hoping to expand its user base, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/15/twitter-tweaks-its-design-again-in-an-attempt-to-woo-newcomers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter made design changes</a> to its app again.Examining one of the many ways Internet of Things devices pose security risks, Ars Technica describes a security consultant’s demonstration of how, using terrestrial radio signals, <a href="https://arstechnica.co.uk/security/2017/04/smart-tv-hack-embeds-attack-code-into-broadcast-signal-no-access-required/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpBd05qVTBNVEE0TTJZdyIsInQiOiI3MTEyRDJOcFQ2dVNTbGplVUswbjZVbnNjTUwybVwvcVwvZzJWa0huMjBiWXN5Z2t0MytjMSszXC83TmxCcUJtaFdseGxMdVhDcDZjZm5KNkQ1bUMwZnhDOE4wSDVFeURBenFWQ0doWVgwVkFNek0ycWo2ZFwvczdBQm1paE5MYzVmcUYifQ%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hackers can control a slew of Smart TVs</a>, spying on the TVs’ owners using the TVs’ cameras and microphones and attacking other devices in the TVs’ owners’ home networks.Despite the impact social media marketing can have on brand reputation, <a href="https://contently.com/strategist/2017/06/12/ceos-use-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60% of Fortune 500 CEOs reportedly have no social media presence</a> at all.<a href="http://marketingland.com/guide-snapchat-advertising-self-serve-tool-officially-opens-216632" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marketing Land</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-ad-manager-how-it-works-screenshots-2017-6/#you-can-select-from-a-list-of-objective-based-campaigns-like-app-install-or-brand-awareness-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider</a> published pieces describing how to use Snapchat’s new self-serve ad-buying tool, Ad Manager, the messaging app’s attempt to make advertising on Snapchat simpler and more accessible to small businesses.Inc. Magazine provides a clear explanation of <a href="https://www.inc.com/john-koetsier/how-blockchain-will-transform-business-in-3-to-5-years.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the blockchain works</a>, which industries it’s likely to change and what’s standing in the way of the blockchain’s widespread adoption.There’s <a href="http://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/blind-dating-app" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a new dating app</a> for singles with little patience for protracted email exchanges.

Social Links: Instagram’s new tool to denote paid posts; the world’s 1st autonomous-vehicle public transportation system for the masses; the “COVFEFE Act” would seek to ensure Trump’s tweets are preserved

Instagram is now allowing a limited number of users to identify branded content with a “paid partnership” subhead instead of using hashtags like #ad and #sponso

Social Links: Instagram’s new tool to denote paid posts; the world’s 1st autonomous-vehicle public transportation system for the masses; the “COVFEFE Act” would seek to ensure Trump’s tweets are preserved

One year since agreeing with the European Commission to remove hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about it, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/01/social-media-giants-making-progress-on-illegal-hate-speech-takedowns-ec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube are removing flagged content an average of 59% of the time</a>, the EC reports.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit <a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2ndFacebook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held</a> that a catering company violated the National Labor Relations Act when it fired an employee for posting to Facebook a profane rant about his supervisor in response to that supervisor admonishing him for “chitchatting” <a href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/second_circuit/2017/04/union-workers-profane-post-on-facebook-is-protected.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">days before the employee and his coworkers were holding a vote to unionize</a>.The value of the digital currency Ether could surpass Bitcoin’s value by 2018, some experts say.The Washington Post takes a look at how the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/06/08/how-the-nbas-embrace-of-social-media-might-help-it-someday-surpass-the-nfl/?utm_term=.81a00d53d3a6" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> NBA is doing a particularly good job of leveraging social media</a> and technology in general to market itself to younger fans and international consumers.A <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/21/israeli-court-emojis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">judge in Israel ruled in favor of a landlord</a> who took down a rental ad based on his belief that a couple wanted to rent his apartment after they sent him a text message containing festive emoji and otherwise expressing interest in the rental. The landlord brought a lawsuit against the couple for backing out on the deal, and the court held the emoji in the couple’s text “convey[ed] great optimism.” The court further determined that, although the message “did not constitute a binding contract between the parties, [it] naturally led to the Plaintiff’s great reliance on the defendants’ desire to rent his apartment.” For a survey of U.S. courts’ treatment of emoji entered into evidence, read <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/04/20/emoji/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this post</a> on Socially Aware.The owner of a recipe site is <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/food-network-sued-snow-globe-cupcakes-how-video-1009511" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suing the Food Network for copyright infringement</a>, alleging that a video the network posted on its Facebook page ripped off her how-to video for snow globe cupcakes.Twitter’s popularity with journalists has made it a prime target for media manipulators, The New York Times’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/technology/how-twitter-is-being-gamed-to-feed-misinformation.html?ref=media&_r=2&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%20Today%20in%20Entertainment_now_2017-06-01%2006:56:40_ehayden&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Farhad Manjoo reports</a>. As a result, Manjoo claims, the microblogging platform played a key role in many of the past year’s biggest misinformation campaigns.The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University claims that the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account’s blocking of some Twitter users <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-twitter-idUSKBN18X2LR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violates the First Amendment</a> because it suppresses speech in a public forum protected by the Constitution.Pop singer Taylor Swift, who pulled her back catalogue of music from free streaming services in 2014 saying the services don’t fairly compensate music creators, has now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/09/taylor-swift-returns-to-streaming-services-spotify-google-play-music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made her entire catalogue of music accessible via Spotify, Google Play and Amazon Music</a>.To encourage young people in swing constituencies to vote for Labour in the UK’s general election, some Tinder users turned their profiles over to a bot that sent other Tinder users between the ages of 18 and 25 automated messages asking if they were voting and focusing on key topics that would interest young voters.

Social Links: Court disallows firing over Facebook page rant; Ether threatens Bitcoin’s reign as top digital currency; NBA slam dunks social media marketing

One year since agreeing with the European Commission to remove hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about it, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Y

Social Links: Court disallows firing over Facebook page rant; Ether threatens Bitcoin’s reign as top digital currency; NBA slam dunks social media marketing