Brands Beware: FTC Continues Campaign on Social Media Influencer Disclosures
- With much fanfare , the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to take actions relating to so-called “social media influencers” who allegedly fail to disclose material connections to the products or brands they endorse. Recurring enforcement actions and guidance—and the FTC’s ongoing promotion of its... ›
Social Links: Russia’s threat to block Facebook; Google’s publisher-friendly move; a cease-and-desist letter worth emulating
By: Aaron P. Rubin
As part of a new tracking system, the Department of Homeland Security will be keeping records of immigrants’ social media handles and search results. Russia to Facebook: Turn over user-information or risk being blocked. Google is ending a policy that required news sites to... ›- - Advertising, Artificial Intelligence, European Union, FTC, Influencer Marketing, Privacy, UK, Employment Law, Online Endorsements
Social Links: Social media influencers earn big bucks for endorsements, while the FTC settles a suit against influencers; European court sides with employee axed over emails reviewed by employer
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In 2016, brands spent $570 million on social influencer endorsements on Instagram alone. This recode article takes a looks at how much influencers with certain followings can command, and whether they’re worth the investment. And don’t overlook the legal issues associated with the use... › In-Depth Report: Privacy + Data Security
By: Aaron P. Rubin
As Socially Aware readers know, privacy and data security issues are among the most critical legal issues confronting companies that do business online. With ransomware attacks and hacking incidents on the rise, and with privacy and data security laws becoming increasingly burdensome, companies are... ›Privacy Law Considerations in Tracking Event Attendees’ Whereabouts
By: Aaron P. Rubin
More and more often, the organizers of conferences, trade shows and events are taking advantage of beacon technology to track attendees’ movement throughout their conventions’ sessions and event spaces. Although no U.S. law specifically prohibits such tracking, the FTC has made it clear that... ›German Parliament Enacts Wide-ranging Surveillance Powers Allowing End User Devices to Be Hacked by Authorities
By: Christoph Nüßing and Philip Radlanski
On June 22, 2017, the German Parliament passed a bill that, among other things, awards extensive surveillance powers to law enforcement authorities. The new law, once in force, will allow law enforcement to covertly install software on end user devices allowing the interception of... ›New York’s Highest Court Rebuffs Facebook’s Efforts to Protect the Rights of Its Users in Search Warrant Fight
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Facebook’s four-year battle on behalf of its users, seeking to quash 381 warrants obtained by the New York County District Attorney’s Office, has come to a close. The decision of the New York Court of Appeals—which is New York’s highest court—leaves Facebook users exposed... ›8 Steps to Avoid Being the Victim of the Next Ransomware Attack
By: Nathan D. Taylor
The global WannaCry ransomware attack should be a wake up call for all companies about the threat ransomware poses. While WannaCry was one of the first highly publicized attacks in which ransomware was weaponized and used against numerous companies at once, there will undoubtedly... ›Court Orders Google to Turn Over Foreign-Stored Data
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently secured a notable victory against Google in a dispute over the enforceability of a U.S. search warrant seeking access to foreign-stored account data. The April 19 ruling—from Magistrate Judge Beeler in the U.S. District Court for the... ›Now Available: The April Issue of Our Socially Aware Newsletter
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this edition, we explore the threat to U.S. jobs posed by rapid advances in emerging technologies; we examine a Federal Trade Commission report on how companies engaging in cross-device tracking can stay on... ›