EU Copyright Directive – Quo Vadis: First Steps Towards its German Implementation
- SUMMARY On June 7, 2019, the highly controversial EU Copyright Directive (“Directive”) came into force, requiring EU Member States to transpose its provisions into national law by June 7, 2021. To recap, the most relevant provisions of the Directive require the implementation of the... ›
New copyright registration option for bloggers; AT&T’s opinion on CDA §230; questions about YouTube’s anti-hate rules
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A federal district court judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., dismissed the complaint in a case filed by Genius , a platform that lets users share and annotate lyrics, holding that the plaintiff’s claims were preempted by copyright law. The suit alleged that Google had stolen... ›EDNY Refuses to Dismiss on § 230 Grounds in “Shitty Media Men” Defamation Case
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In Elliott v. Donegan , a federal district court in New York held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not warrant the dismissal of a defamation claim where the plaintiff’s complaint did not “foreclose[] the possibility that Defendant created or developed... ›District Court in 3rd Circuit Sides with 9th Circuit: §230 Protects Social Platforms from State Law Intellectual Property Claims
By: Evangeline Phang
It is another win for social media platforms in the realm of the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230. In a case of first impression within the Third Circuit, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Hepp v. Facebook ruled that social media platforms are immune... ›FTC questions protections afforded tech platforms; LinkedIn was platform of choice for sellers of COVID-19 PPE; Appeals court passes on “retweet” propriety question
By: Julie O'Neill
Expressing concern about the spread of disinformation related to COVID-19, Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra said Congress may need “to reassess the special privileges afforded to tech platforms, especially given their vast power to curate and present content in ways that may manipulate users.”... ›Stretching the Bounds of Personal Jurisdiction, 4th Circuit Finds Geotargeted Advertising May Subject Foreign Website Owner to Personal Jurisdiction in the U.S.
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Foreign websites that use geotargeted advertising may be subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States, even if they have no physical presence in the United States and do not specifically target their services to the United States, according to a new ruling from... ›Debate over §230 of the CDA rages on; Twitter defeats defamation suit; Booking.com held valid trademark
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
In a purported attempt to safeguard free speech, President Trump has issued an order “Preventing Online Censorship,” that would eliminate the protections afforded by one of our favorite topics here at Socially Aware , Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects... ›A Strong Social Media Policy Can Protect Your Brand and Avoid Embarrassing Posts
Eric Akira Tate spoke to TechRepublic about how businesses should think about establishing or updating corporate social media policies to account for the changing standards, especially as the U.S. is in the midst of a civil rights movement. “Reviewing social media policies so that... ›Sweating the Details: Court Analyzes User Interface to Uphold Online Arbitration Clause
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Online service providers typically seek to mitigate risk by including arbitration clauses in their user agreements. In order for such agreements to be effective, however, they must be implemented properly. Babcock vs. Neutron Holdings, Inc. , a recent Southern District of Florida case involving... ›Tell A Friend – But Only With Your Friend’s Consent
By: Alex van der Wolk and Marijn Storm
Alex van der Wolk, Marijn Storm, and Ronan Tigner authored an article for the IAPP covering the Belgian Data Protection Authority’s challenge to the “tell-a-friend” function on social media websites that enables users to share content with their personal contacts. The DPA’s decision to... ›