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 11, 2016 - News and Announcements
2015: Our Greatest Hits
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Last year, entrepreneurs, companies and courts grappled with questions over content owners’ rights with respect to livestreaming, Yelp reviewers’ anonymity expectations , bankruptcy creditors’ access to business’ Facebook and Twitter accounts , and the constitutionality of laws punishing the posters of revenge porn and
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January 07, 2016 - E-Commerce, Live streaming, Disappearing Content, Marketing, Privacy, Compliance, Wearable Computers
Our List of Lists
By: Aaron P. Rubin
January is the month when lists—lists of predictions, lists of trends, lists of feats and lists of failures—pervade social media newsfeeds and publications’ headlines. Here at Socially Aware we’re making an annual tradition of curating a “List of Lists”—an inventory of the roundups that
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January 05, 2016 - FTC, Marketing, Compliance
An FTC Warning on Native Advertising
By: Julie O'Neill
“Native advertising”—ads that may blur the distinction between advertising and editorial, video or other content—has been a hot topic in recent years for both marketers and regulators. It is popular with marketers because it is apparently an effective advertising model. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
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December 21, 2015 - Endorsement Guides, FDA Regulations, FTC, Marketing, Compliance, IP, Online Endorsements
Influencer Marketing: Tips for a Successful (and Legal) Advertising Campaign
By: Julie O'Neill
In an age of explosive growth for social media and declining TV viewership numbers , companies are partnering with so-called “influencers” to help the companies grow their brands. Popular users of Instagram, Vine, YouTube and other social media sites have gained celebrity status ,
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December 18, 2015 - Endorsement Guides, Online Reviews, Litigation
Frying Small Potatoes: Will Amazon’s Pursuit of Individual Fake-Review Writers Pay Off?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Amazon’s customer reviews have long been a go-to resource for consumers researching prospective purchases. Unfortunately, fake customer reviews—product critiques commissioned by merchants and manufacturers in an effort to bolster their own products’ reputations or undermine their competitors’—have been around for almost as long. Now,
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December 07, 2015 - Copyright
Creative Commons Works: Free to License, But Not Necessarily Free to Use
Companies love to use third-party content for free. In this era of belt-tightening and slashed marketing budgets, why pay to create photos and videos for advertising and other commercial uses when compelling photos and videos are readily available online for licensing for commercial use
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December 02, 2015 - News and Announcements
Wow! Socially Aware Made the Blawg100!
By: Aaron P. Rubin
We are delighted to announce that Socially Aware has been included in the 9th 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, which is
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December 01, 2015 - FTC, Marketing, Privacy, Compliance
Cross-Device Tracking Attracts Interest From Regulators, Prompts Guidance From Industry Group
By: Julie O'Neill
Cross-device tracking is a hot new issue for regulators. Companies engaged in the practice should take note of two recent developments. On November 16, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a workshop on the issue and, perhaps not coincidentally, on the same day
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November 30, 2015 - Marketing, Infographic
Infographic: Social Media Marketing
We’re happy to publish our latest infographic, which highlights key social media marketing trends for both B2B and B2C companies. Among other things, the infographic points out that, although companies continue to increase their social media marketing spend, they don’t do a particularly good job
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November 25, 2015 - Marketing
Cyber Monday, Social Commerce and the End of an Era
Online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend—Cyber Monday—have continued to increase year over year since the day was first christened “Cyber Monday” in 2004. As social media enthusiasts, we were surprised to learn that social networks drove only 1.5% of the avalanche of
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