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.

January 09, 2017 - News and Announcements
2016: Our Greatest Hits
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Last year we explained how companies could protect their social media currency and heed the FTC’s warning on native advertising. We examined court opinions establishing the criteria for enforceable website terms of use and defining the scope of protection afforded to website owners under
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January 06, 2017 - Cyberbullying, Marketing, Right To Be Forgotten, Litigation
Social Links: AI displaces insurance company employees; revenge-porn victim seeks injunction against search engines; Wendy’s wins Twitter war against a troll
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Over 30 workers at a Japanese insurance company are losing their jobs following the company’s adoption of IBM’s Watson Explorer, an artificial intelligence system that will perform an important back office function at the company. Medium laid off a big chunk of its team
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January 04, 2017 - Blockchain, Patent, Marketing, Privacy, Free Speech, Compliance
2017: Predictions From Socially Aware’s Editors and Contributors
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions and predictions. We won’t bother Socially Aware readers with our resolutions for 2017, but we thought that we would share some predictions for the new year from our editors and contributors. As our
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December 15, 2016 - User-Generated Content, Section 230 Safe Harbor
The Decline and Fall of Section 230?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
2016 has been a tough year for a lot of reasons, most of which are outside the scope of this blog (though if you’d like to hear our thoughts about Bowie, Prince or Leonard Cohen, feel free to drop us a line). But one
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December 05, 2016 - DMCA, User-Generated Content, Copyright
New Copyright Office Rule Creates Potential “Gotcha” for Blogs and Websites Hosting User-Generated Content
If your company operates a website or blog that hosts user-generated content, you’ll want to read this post carefully. We’re ringing the alarm bell on an important new U.S. copyright law development that, if ignored, could significantly increase your company’s potential liability exposure in
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December 05, 2016 - Online Reviews, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
In a Rough Year for CDA Section 230, Manchanda v. Google Provides Comfort to Website Operators
By: Aaron P. Rubin
As we noted in our recent post on the Ninth Circuit case Kimzey v. Yelp! Inc., in the right circumstances, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) still provides robust protection against liability for website operators despite the unusually large number of decisions
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December 02, 2016 - Disappearing Content, Online Reviews, Free Speech, Mobile
Social Links: Yellow journalism rakes in cash; NYC law protects gig economy pay; Twitter suspends “alt-right” accounts
By: Aaron P. Rubin
“Yellow journalism” websites are using social media to capitalize on popular ideology. And they’re making a bundle. New York City recently passed the country’s first law protecting the wages of “gig economy” workers. The Wall Street Journal published an illuminating infographic illustrating who’s making
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November 29, 2016 - News and Announcements
Socially Aware Made the Blawg 100 Again!
By: Aaron P. Rubin
We are delighted to announce that Socially Aware has been included in the 10th Annual Blawg 100 , a list of “100 excellent legal blogs” selected by the staff and readers of the ABA Journal , the American Bar Association’s flagship magazine. The ABA
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November 22, 2016 - Online Reviews, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Yelp Case Shows CDA §230 Still Has Teeth
By: Aaron P. Rubin
2016 has been a challenging year for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the website operators who depend on it for protection against liability stemming from user-generated content. An unusually large number of cases this year have resulted in decisions holding
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November 22, 2016 - First Amendment, E-Commerce, Cyberbullying, UK, Free Speech, Litigation, Wearable Computers
Social Links: IMDb sues over right to post actors’ ages; Facebook tests jobs feature; Pinterest adopts “tried it” button
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has filed suit to overturn a law that requires the popular entertainment website to remove the ages or birth dates of people in the entertainment industry upon request. Vine might not be history after all. Twitter users posted more than
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Welcome to Socially Aware

2016: Our Greatest Hits

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: AI displaces insurance company employees; revenge-porn victim seeks injunction against search engines; Wendy’s wins Twitter war against a troll

By: Aaron P. Rubin

2017: Predictions From Socially Aware’s Editors and Contributors

By: Aaron P. Rubin

The Decline and Fall of Section 230?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

New Copyright Office Rule Creates Potential “Gotcha” for Blogs and Websites Hosting User-Generated Content

In a Rough Year for CDA Section 230, Manchanda v. Google Provides Comfort to Website Operators

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: Yellow journalism rakes in cash; NYC law protects gig economy pay; Twitter suspends “alt-right” accounts

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Socially Aware Made the Blawg 100 Again!

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Yelp Case Shows CDA §230 Still Has Teeth

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: IMDb sues over right to post actors’ ages; Facebook tests jobs feature; Pinterest adopts “tried it” button

By: Aaron P. Rubin