Welcome to Socially Aware

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.

November 13, 2024 - Artificial Intelligence, Data Security, First Amendment, Fraud, FTC, Online Reviews, Privacy, Social Media Policy
Social Links: Age Verification, X Appeal, and the Great White North
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
CHALLENGE TO TEXAS AGE-VERIFICATION LAW RETURNED TO LOWER COURT The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has sent a challenge to Texas’s controversial online age verification law back to district court for additional clarification, while leaving the lower court’s injunction blocking the
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October 30, 2024 - Defamation, E-Commerce, FTC, IP, Online Reviews, Privacy, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Socially Aware: Fake Reviews, Real Rulings, and an Epic Fail
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
FAKE REVIEW RULES TAKE EFFECT The Federal Trade Commission’s new rules banning phony online reviews are now in effect. These rules aim to curb false consumer testimonials, the buying of fake reviews from brokers, review suppression, falsifying social media influence, and misrepresentation of company
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October 29, 2024 - Arbitration, Terms of Use
Lawrence W. Gallick on Toth v. Everly Well, Inc.
On September 25, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued its decision in Toth v. Everly Well, Inc. Socially Aware spoke to Lawrence Gallick (of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Austin office) about the case for a deeper dive into this
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October 07, 2024 - Arbitration, Artificial Intelligence, Data Security, First Amendment, Privacy, Protected Speech, Social Media Policy
Social Links: Going Back to Cali
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
Newsom Vetoes AI Bill California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB-1047. The controversial bill was intended to establish safety guidelines for artificial intelligence models and would have been the first significant piece of state AI legislation in the country. Though it had many high-profile
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September 24, 2024 - Artificial Intelligence, European Union, First Amendment, Fraud, Social Media Policy, Trademark
Social Links: TikTok Trademarks, Social Signposts, and Robot Rock
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
Sick of the “ very demure, very mindful ” social media trend yet? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office probably is too. Our national nightmare began on August 5 when TikToker Jools LeBron uploaded a video of herself pontificating about the way she dresses
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September 20, 2024 - Arbitration, Class Actions, Terms of Use
Lose Your Illusion: District Court Holds that Unilateral Modification Clause Makes ToS Unenforceable
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez, Aaron P. Rubin and Tricia Matibag
On August 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Lovinfosse v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLP addressed the enforceability of an arbitration clause in Lowe’s terms of service, serving as a reminder of the problems that may arise from
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September 10, 2024 - Arbitration, Copyright, IP, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Social Media Policy, Terms of Use
Social Links: Tinder, TikTok, and the Copacabana
Double-check before swiping right. Ubiquitous dating app Tinder scored a court victory when the U.S. District Court in New Jersey ruled in Ciapinska v. Tinder that the arbitration clause in the app’s terms of use (TOU) is binding. At the center of the suit
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August 29, 2024 - Advertising, Artificial Intelligence, Copyright
Social Links: Deepfakes, AI, and the Continuing Saga of Reddit
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
Lingo Telecom, a Georgia-based VoIP service operator, has agreed to pay a $1 million fine for using AI-generated deepfake technology to spoof President Joe Biden’s voice in a series of robocalls. A Louisiana political consultant had previously been indicted for arranging and financing the calls,
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August 23, 2024 - Copyright, Defamation, E-Commerce, Fraud, FTC, Online Reviews, Privacy, Social Media Policy, Trademark, Web Scraping
Social Links: Recent Developments in the Law and Business of Social Media
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a new rule aimed at curtailing false, misleading, and otherwise fraudulent reviews on online retail sites. Fake reviews are a significant problem for the big e-commerce platforms, given that a robust customer review system is crucial to modern
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Welcome to Socially Aware

Social Links: Age Verification, X Appeal, and the Great White North

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin

Socially Aware: Fake Reviews, Real Rulings, and an Epic Fail

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence W. Gallick on Toth v. Everly Well, Inc.

Social Links: Going Back to Cali

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: TikTok Trademarks, Social Signposts, and Robot Rock

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin

Lose Your Illusion: District Court Holds that Unilateral Modification Clause Makes ToS Unenforceable

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez, Aaron P. Rubin and Tricia Matibag

Social Links: Tinder, TikTok, and the Copacabana

Social Links: Deepfakes, AI, and the Continuing Saga of Reddit

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: Recent Developments in the Law and Business of Social Media

By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin