The Social Media Law Blog is a forum for lawyers, compliance personnel, human resources managers, and other professionals who are struggling with the legal implications of social media across a broad variety of topics. Working professionals and Bloomberg BNA editors may share ideas, raise issues, and network with colleagues to build a community of knowledge on this rapidly evolving topic. The ideas presented here are those of individuals, and Bloomberg BNA bears no responsibility for the appropriateness or accuracy of the communications between group members.
October 4, 2013
Bloomberg BNA recently released Corporate Practice Series Portfolio No. 91, Social Media Law, co-authored by David A. Bell, a partner at Haynes & Boone LLP. Bell recently discussed several aspects of social media use and how to mitigate the legal risks it presents in, among other areas, employment, marketing and M&A due diligence. The following is a shortened version of Bell's interview, which is available in full to BBNA subscribers.
September 27, 2013
by Michael Loatman
"I'd like to add you to my professional network." Did that LinkedIn invitation come from the executive you traded business cards with at a recent conference? Or did the professional social networking company put you together with a prospective contact after "hacking" into your friend's e-mail account, as was claimed in a recent lawsuit?
September 20, 2013
Thanks, but no thanks. That was the response of one of 14 organizations selected to receive assigned percentages of the several million dollars remaining in Facebook Inc.'s $20 million Sponsored Stories litigation settlement.
September 13, 2013
by Katie Johnson
The Federal Trade Commission recently asked the public to comment on two applications that would allow social media networks and other online services to obtain parental consent for the collection of children's personal information in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule.
August 30, 2013
Should social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter be permitted to share exactly how many times the U.S. government has made a request for user information because of national security, or is that information too sensitive to be shared with a high level of specificity?
August 23, 2013
Motivated high school students considering where to attend college are a new target for LinkedIn Corp., which announced in an Aug. 19 blog post that it will lower its minimum age to 14 in the United States next month.
August 15, 2013
by Meg McEvoy
Major U.S. social media companies are seeking approval to release data about government surveillance requests, and legislators in August introduced bills that would increase transparency and oversight in the wake of news reports making public a government surveillance program called PRISM.
August 9, 2013
The Federal Trade Commission's latest updates to its frequently asked questions on complying with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act may help answer lingering questions social media companies, advertising networks, and others may have following the July 1 effective date of the commission's amended COPPA Rule.
August 1, 2013
Online daily deal company LivingSocial Inc. said it had a drop in profits in April and May partially because of a cyber-attack that exposed the encrypted passwords and other information of up to 50 million customers, a spokeswoman for the company told BNA July 30.
July 19, 2013
A mobile application touting the release of rapper Jay-Z's new album has come under fire for the app's requirement that users connect with their social media accounts, among other privacy claims.
July 12, 2013
A teenager who does not have a Facebook account finds out that another person is impersonating her on Facebook and many of her friends are receiving inappropriate comments from that account. What obligations, if any, should Facebook Inc. have when it is informed about the imposter account?
June 21, 2013
On June 28, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hold a hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for final approval of the class action settlement in Fraley v. Facebook Inc., No. 3:11-cv-01726-RS. Both the plaintiffs and Facebook have expressed their support for the final approval of the $20 million settlement agreement, subject to several caveats.
June 13, 2013
In two opinions this month—coincidentally both involving the alleged use of excessive force by police—federal district courts came to opposite conclusions regarding whether to permit broad social media discovery.
June 7, 2013
A company's brand reputation can take decades to build, and in the social media age, seconds to be imperiled. Taco Bell Corp. faced that problem after a man posted a photo June 2 allegedly depicting an employee licking multiple taco shells at a Ridgecrest, Calif., store on the company's Facebook page.
May 31, 2013
Two companies owned by rapper Eminem May 20 filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Facebook Inc. and its advertising agency, alleging ads for new mobile software application Facebook Home infringe the copyright of his song Under the Influence.
May 23, 2013
Under what circumstances can Twitter Inc. take away an account holder's handle, particularly when a company desires the account name? A lawsuit filed earlier this month in an Idaho trial court may help answer that question.
May 17, 2013
Michael Loatman's write-up regarding a court's dismissal of a fraud lawsuit against a fired employee over an alleged failure to update his LinkedIn profile, which appeared in BNA's Social Media Law & Policy Report, is available online to both subscribers and nonsubscribers.
May 16, 2013
New Mexico recently became the latest state to enact legislation barring post-secondary education institutions from demanding that current and prospective students turn over their passwords and other social media account information.
May 15, 2013
A Bloomberg BNA correspondent's write-up regarding a request by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) that the Legislature narrow a social media privacy bill that would regulate employers in the state, which appeared in BNA's Social Media Law & Policy Report, is available online to both subscribers and nonsubscribers.
May 10, 2013
Websites and online services that will be affected by the amended Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule need to prepare for the rule's July 1 implementation date after the Federal Trade Commission rejected calls by industry to push back the date.
May 9, 2013
Katie Johnson’s write-up regarding LivingSocial Inc.’s response to a recent cyber-attack, which appeared in both BNA's Social Media Law & Policy Report and Privacy & Data Security Law Resource Center, is available online to both subscribers and nonsubscribers.
May 3, 2013
A federal lawmaker failed to convince his colleagues to adopt a social media privacy amendment to a federal cybersecurity bill, but legislators in several states have had better luck, as a number of bills recently became law.
April 10, 2013
A cybersecurity bill (H.R. 624) that the House Intelligence Committee is scheduled to mark up April 10 has received pledges of support from many telecommunications and information technology companies, but no prominent social media companies have publicly expressed their support for the measure so far.
March 18, 2013
Courts and one state (so far) have considered allowing social media websites like Facebook to be used for substituted service of process, though the authenticity of user accounts remains a key issue.
March 15, 2013
Netflix March 13 announced it will take advantage of recent amendments to the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by launching Netflix Social, which it said will permit users to share their favorite movies and shows with friends.
March 1, 2013
Social networking companies Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. are among several major companies that have admitted recently to being the victims of cyber-attacks.
February 22, 2013
Should the executor or administrator of an estate have access to the digital accounts of the deceased? Or should those accounts, which often include social media, be off limits?
February 1, 2013
The English High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Jan. 17 granted an injunction barring British tabloid The Sun from publishing seminude photos of Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet's new...
January 28, 2013
Facebook Inc.'s recent introduction of "Graph Search" has raised questions among privacy advocates about the new search tool's ability to find information about Facebook users.
January 18, 2013
Facebook is not doing enough to ensure that ads for counterfeit goods and scamming schemes stay off its site, the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman stated in a follow-up letter to a meeting with the social media giant.
January 15, 2013
BNA's Social Media Law & Policy Report launched in 2012, which was a busy year for social media law. This blog post examines three major trends from last year.
December 14, 2012
Earlier this month, California Assembly Member Nora Campos (D) introduced a bill apply the state's new password protection provisions to public employees.
December 7, 2012
Pinterest, the social networking site on which users post and share pictures on virtual "pin boards," has updated its terms of service to allow business accounts and commercial activity.
November 26, 2012
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers Nov. 8 said that how data brokers collect and use consumer information remains a mystery despite receiving details from nine companies, including several that collect information from social media websites.
November 23, 2012
Twitter suspended but now has reactivated @NYTOnIt, a parody account dedicated to poking fun at some of the New York Times’ lifestyle stories, after a trademark infringement complaint from the media giant.
November 16, 2012
The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Dec. 13 is set to consider a proposed regulation that would require campaigns to disclose payments to bloggers and those who post campaign content on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
November 8, 2012
An agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security likely was monitoring social media communications when determining the impact of Hurricane Sandy, but a Nov. 8 DHS report promised that it was not collecting personally identifiable information (PII) from everyone who tweeted about #Sandy.
November 2, 2012
Is social media so pervasive in modern society that banning its use by a disfavored group is unconstitutional, even when there is a significant governmental interest in favor of the restriction?
October 22, 2012
Add New Hampshire to the list of states considering limiting employer access to the social media accounts of employees and job applicants.
October 5, 2012
Use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media outlets is up at hospitals and health systems surveyed in a study released Oct. 4 by the CSC Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices. But hospitals are using social media mainly to help build their brands rather than impact treatment or patient outcomes, the study found.
September 28, 2012
A New Jersey assemblyman Sept. 27 introduced legislation to include proper use of social media as a core curriculum topic for students in sixth to eighth grades.
September 24, 2012
New Jersey lawmakers are closer to becoming the latest to approve legislation aimed at reining in demands by employers or educational institutions for social media passwords or access.
September 21, 2012
Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, was the subject of an investigation by the agency's inspector general, and it is possible he may face further scrutiny by the Department of Justice. The IG has said that Solomon reviewed Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s social media policy while holding stock in the company.
September 7, 2012
Florida judges who use Facebook or similar social networking sites may want to consider re-examining their online friends.
August 31, 2012
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) must decide by Sept. 30 whether to sign or veto a pair of bills meant to protect employee and student social media accounts from the perceived problem of overly curious employers and colleges.
August 24, 2012
Facebook's $1 billion acquisition of Instagram was notable because it employed only about 13 employees and did not have any revenue. Did Facebook offer a king's ransom to prevent a potential rival competitor from emerging?
August 10, 2012
Social media website YouTube appears to be the video-sharing platform of choice for at least one federal agency, which is requiring all entrants to an anti-bullying video contest to use YouTube for submissions in lieu of sending DVDs.
August 6, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission Aug. 1 proposed additional modifications to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, which were formally published Aug. 6, in a move that would clarify that plug-ins and advertising networks that collect personal information from children through another's site or service are covered by the rule.
August 3, 2012
Disclosures required by the Federal Trade Commission's Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising are necessary even when using emerging social networking platforms, according to a June 29 case report from the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that dealt with Nutrisystem Inc.'s "Real Customers. Real Success" Pinterest board.
August 2, 2012
Illinois is now the second state after Maryland to limit employer access to the social media accounts of employees and job applicants after Gov. Pat Quinn (D) Aug. 1 signed into law H.B. 3782, which amends the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act.
July 27, 2012
Add a child's use of Facebook to the list of topics dueling custodial parents might fight about. It also might be an issue for a court's custodial decree.
July 26, 2012
Taco Bell wanted to argue that a plaintiff's consumer protection lawsuit was "an utter contrivance that is the classic example of a lawyer-driven strike suit." To illustrate, the fast food company asked the court to take judicial notice of the plaintiff's LinkedIn profile page showing he was a paid extern at a law firm. The court refused.
July 18, 2012
Section 1121 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (S. 3187), signed into law by President Obama on July 9, tasks the agency with issuing guidance on its policy "regarding the promotion, using the Internet (including social media), of medical products that are regulated by such Administration."
July 6, 2012
Schools will be unable to request user names or passwords from applicants or students if Gov. Jack Markell (D) signs a bill that unanimously passed both chambers of the Delaware Legislature.
July 5, 2012
Government requests for Twitter Inc. user information in the first half of 2012 overwhelmingly have come from the United States, according to the company's first transparency report, which it released July 2.
June 21, 2012
Louisiana has garnered national attention for its new law that requires registered sex offenders to post the details of their conviction on their social media profiles.
June 20, 2012
When the Maryland law to protect social network usernames and passwords was first introduced I wrote it off as typical front-running by political officials, and did not read it closely. DLA Piper's lawyers did and so, after I read their article, did I. What a mess.
June 15, 2012
What information can you really believe when looking over a Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media profile? That question appeared to be at the heart of two recent cases that questioned the accuracy of data on social media services.
June 11, 2012
The FBI recently released a brochure warning of "Internet Social Networking Risks."
June 4, 2012
by Barbara Yuill
"Case finally over. Unanimous verdict! Celebrating tonight." "Another great victory in court today! My client is delighted. Who wants to be next?" Are these self-congratulatory raves, posted over a one month period by an enthused (but hypothetical) attorney to 500 friends and professional contacts on her personal social media site, actually advertisements?
May 21, 2012
Myspace. Google. Twitter. Facebook. In the past two years, each has been the subject of an enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission. But that's not all.
May 18, 2012
Congress often lags behind more nimble state legislatures when it comes to the quick passage of new law on up-and-coming issues. Social media law, it turns out, is no exception.
I’d Like to Add You to My Professional Network
Two Companies Request FTC Review of Proposed COPPA Parental Consent Methods
MacArthur Foundation to Decline Facebook Settlement Funds
More Transparency on National Security Requests?
BBNA Social Media Portfolio Available