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.

May 27, 2016 - Advertising, Internet of Things, FTC, Marketing, Defamation, Litigation
Social Links: Publishers claim ad blockers violate FTC rules; Twitter bags its “buy button”; has the IoT gone too far?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The Newspaper Association of America has filed a first-of-its-kind complaint with the FTC over certain ad blocking technologies. Is it “Internet” or “internet”? The Associated Press is about to change the capitalization rule. Lots of people criticized Instagram’s new logo, but, according to a
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May 25, 2016 - Labor Law, Employment Law, Compliance
Don’t Worry, Be (Un)Happy: Does U.S. Labor Law Protect a Worker’s Right to a Bad Attitude?
By: Mary Race
A few months ago, we noted that a Yelp employee’s online “ negative review ” of her employer might be protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), given that the National Relations Labor Board (NLRB) has become increasingly aggressive in protecting an
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May 23, 2016 - Advertising, Privacy, Litigation
Will Ad Blockers Kill Online Publishing?
The Internet contains over 4.6 billion Web pages , most of which are accessible for free, making content that we used to have to pay for—news, videos, games—available without having to hand over a credit card number. What makes all of this possible is
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May 20, 2016 - Live streaming, Marketing, Privacy, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
Social Links—Twitter loosens up; case against Google stands; should millennials be in charge of big social media campaigns?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Here’s how Twitter is loosening up its 140-character limit. The federal government will now check the social media history of prospective employees before granting them security clearance. One expert says C-level executives shouldn’t entrust millennials with their companies’ social media feeds. Federal court refuses
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May 19, 2016 - Advertising, Digital Content, Endorsement Guides, FTC, Compliance, Online Endorsements
Show Me the Money: Are Social Media Celebrities and Other Online Content Creators Really Raking in the Cash?
Social media has allowed aspiring authors, musicians, filmmakers and other artists to publish their works and develop a fan base without having to wait to be discovered by a publishing house, record label or talent agency. And that seems to have made at least
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May 17, 2016 - Advertising, UK, Compliance
Social Media Competitions in the UK: Play Fair
By: Mercedes Samavi
With 1.65 billion users on Facebook, 332 million users on Twitter and 400 million on Instagram, it is unsurprising that many companies are seeking to increase brand awareness and customer engagement by running competitions via social media. If you want to avoid attracting the
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May 13, 2016 - First Amendment, Protected Speech, Live streaming, Marketing, Privacy, Statistics
Social Links—Instagram’s logo change causes a stir; stats on social media use at work; lessons from a YouTube star.
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The Great Instagram Logo Freakout of 2016. A UK council policy reportedly grants its members power to spy on residents by setting up fake Facebook profiles. Guess who spends more of their workday on social media , women or men? Lessons from one of
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May 06, 2016 - Digital Content, Privacy, Wearable Computers
Social Links—The most disliked movie trailer ever; using social media to plan trips and land job interviews; and more.
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Facebook users spend more time on the platform than they spend pursuing any other leisure activity, except TV. Indeed, 1/16th of the average user’s waking time is spent on the platform. The most disliked movie trailer in history, according to YouTube. New California law
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May 05, 2016 - FTC, Compliance
Innovative Social Media Marketing Cannot Overlook Old-Fashioned Compliance
By: Julie O'Neill
Social media is all about innovation, so it is no surprise that social media marketers are always looking for innovative ways—such as courting social media “influencers” and using native advertising—to promote products and services to customers and potential customers. But, as the retailer Lord
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May 03, 2016 - Copyright
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Jurisdiction: No “Situs of Injury” Merely Because Copyrighted Material Is Accessible
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Because content posted online can be accessed nearly anywhere, courts regularly face the issue of whether they have personal jurisdiction over a defendant who posted material to the web or a social media site. Recently, one New York federal court held that the mere fact,
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Welcome to Socially Aware

Social Links: Publishers claim ad blockers violate FTC rules; Twitter bags its “buy button”; has the IoT gone too far?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Don’t Worry, Be (Un)Happy: Does U.S. Labor Law Protect a Worker’s Right to a Bad Attitude?

By: Mary Race

Will Ad Blockers Kill Online Publishing?

Social Links—Twitter loosens up; case against Google stands; should millennials be in charge of big social media campaigns?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Show Me the Money: Are Social Media Celebrities and Other Online Content Creators Really Raking in the Cash?

Social Media Competitions in the UK: Play Fair

By: Mercedes Samavi

Social Links—Instagram’s logo change causes a stir; stats on social media use at work; lessons from a YouTube star.

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links—The most disliked movie trailer ever; using social media to plan trips and land job interviews; and more.

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Innovative Social Media Marketing Cannot Overlook Old-Fashioned Compliance

By: Julie O'Neill

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Jurisdiction: No “Situs of Injury” Merely Because Copyrighted Material Is Accessible

By: J. Alexander Lawrence