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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Lawrence Gallick

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.

Anthony M. Ramirez

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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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A recent decision from a federal court in New York highlights the limits social media users enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). The

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The Joys and Dangers of Tweeting: A CDA Immunity Update

The Joys and Dangers of Tweeting: A CDA Immunity Update | Socially Aware

J. Alexander Lawrence

A recent <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20191011j29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision from a federal court in New York highlights</a> the limits social media users enjoy under <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2019/04/30/appeals-court-upholds-section-230-protections-in-case-against-grindr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act</a> (CDA). The case involves Joy Reid, the popular host of <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/am-joy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSNBC’s AM Joy</a> who has more than two million Twitter and Instagram followers, and the interaction between a young Hispanic boy and a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA)–hat wearing woman named Roslyn La Liberte at a Simi Valley, California, City Council meeting.The case centers on a single re-tweet by Reid and two of her Instagram posts.Here is Reid’s re-tweet. It says: “You are going to be the first deported” “dirty Mexican” Were some of the things they yelled at this 14 year old boy. He was defending immigrants at a rally and was shouted down.Spread this far and wide this woman needs to be put on blast.Here is Reid’s first Instagram post from the same day. It says: joyannreid He showed up to a rally to defend immigrants. … She showed up too, in her MAGA hat, and screamed, “You are going to be the first deported” … “dirty Mexican!” He is 14 years old. She is an adult. Make the picture black and white and it could be the 1950s and the desegregation of a school. Hate is real, y’all. It hasn’t even really gone away.Finally, here is Reid’s second Instagram post from a couple of days later. It says: joyannreid It was inevitable that this image would be made. It’s also easy to look at old black and white photos and think: I can’t believe that person screaming at a child, with their face twisted in rage, is real. By every one of them were. History sometimes repeats. And it is full of rage. Hat tip to @josieiswriting. #regram #history #chooseloveIn September 2018, La Liberte <a href="https://s9503.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Joy-Reid-lawsuit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued Reid for defamation</a>. La Liberte argued that she was polite to the young man and did not use the abusive language attributed to her in the original tweet, which Reid re-tweeted and included in her first Instagram post. La Liberte conceded that, after other news outlets had reported the encounter, Reid had promptly published an apology and a retraction stating, “It looks like I got this wrong.”A year later, a district court in New York <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20191011j29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed La Liberte’s case outright</a>. While Reid ultimately prevailed, the case highlights the risk of defamation claims from social media use.First, Reid’s re-tweet was poised to answer whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information provider,” also shields a Twitter user who simply re-tweets an allegedly defamatory tweet. Does re-tweeting constitute an actionable republishing of a defamatory statement? If so, who exactly qualifies as a “user of an interactive computer service”? Would a re-tweeter qualify?While arguments have been made that the CDA safe harbor protects re-tweeters, contrary arguments have also be made. The text of the CDA would suggest that a re-tweeter is a “user of an interactive computer service,” but no court has yet answered this question. Ultimately, the court in the Reid matter was not forced to answer the question either. La Liberte <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/msnbcs-joy-reid-escape-libel-claim-retweet-1161090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped her re-tweet claims</a> and focused solely on the Instagram posts.With respect to the Instagram posts, the court was clear. The CDA safe harbor does not apply. The court noted that Section 230’s grant of immunity applies only if the provider or user is not also an “information content provider” of the content that gives rise to the underlying claim. “Information content provider” is defined to include “any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.” Unlike the situation regarding the re-tweet, Reid was the alleged author of the text accompanying the Instagram posts. Thus, Reid could not obtain dismissal under the CDA safe harbor.Ultimately, <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20191011j29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reid was able to obtain dismissal for failure to state a defamation claim</a>. La Liberte could not show actual malice, which requires a showing that the alleged defamatory statements were made with the knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity.The court’s application of the actual malice standard depended on whether it found that La Liberte qualified as a limited public figure. The court found the encounter took place at a meeting to discuss California Senate Bill 54, which would limit cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Noting that La Liberte had attended and spoken about the bill at multiple city council meetings around the State of California and, a month prior to the encounter, had appeared in a photograph in the Washington Post included in a story about the controversy, the court found that La Liberte was a limited public figure. The actual malice standard therefore applied.The court further found that the second Instagram post did not include any defamatory statement, because Reid did not state provable facts necessary to underlie a viable defamation claim. The final Instagram post did not attribute comments to La Liberte. Rather, it discussed the juxtaposition of the La Liberte photo and the photo from the 1950s.Finally, the court found that Reid was entitled to her attorney’s fees and costs under the California Anti-SLAPP statute because the Instagram posts were composed in connection with an issue of public interest, and the posts were not defamatory.La Liberte has appealed the decision. Reid has asked the court to award her over $150,000 in fees and costs.Although Reid ultimately prevailed in this case, the opinion shouldn’t embolden Twitter users, who should always exercise care when using social media. Even if U.S. law does someday clearly establish that the CDA safe harbor applies to re-tweets, the Internet has no borders, and courts outside of the United States have held that re-tweets can be grounds for a defamation claim.