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 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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November 23, 2015 - Protected Speech, Employment Law
The Second Circuit Tackles Employee Rights, Obscenities & Social Media Use
By: Mary Race
Employers took note last year when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that “liking” a Facebook post can qualify as protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB held that the owner of a sports bar violated Section 7 of
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November 23, 2015 - Marketing
Black Friday: It’s Not Just About Brick & Mortar Stores Anymore
Here at Socially Aware , we’re focused on Thanksgiving dinner, but we’re well aware that the day after Thanksgiving—Black Friday—is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and a critical sales day for brick-and-mortar retailers. So we were intrigued to stumble upon
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November 17, 2015 - Copyright
Google Books and Fair Use: From Implausible to Inevitable?
[ Editor’s Note: At Socially Aware, we occasionally invite guest columnists to contribute pieces on cutting-edge Internet-related legal issues; today we have the pleasure of publishing a piece by noted copyright scholar Jane Ginsburg , Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property
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November 12, 2015 - Crowdsourcing
Following the Wisdom of the Crowd? A Look at the SEC’s Final Crowdfunding Rules
This article provides a detailed overview of the final rules, Regulation Crowdfunding, which will be applicable to crowdfunding offerings conducted in reliance on Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the “Securities Act”), which was added by Title III of the Jumpstart
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November 10, 2015 - Disappearing Content
Building a Successful Social Media App: Four Lessons Learned From Snapchat
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Since its launch in 2011, the social media platform Snapchat has generated its share of negative press, with most of that press in some way related to the very characteristic that, at least initially, helped Snapchat to become popular among its mostly youthful user
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October 13, 2015 - Data Security, Privacy
California Passes Four Bills Protecting Privacy Rights
By: Julie O'Neill
Last week was a big one for California’s privacy regime. In a landmark move, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law four bills further protecting Californians’ privacy rights: Three strengthen the state’s data breach notification statute and impose restrictions on operators of automated license plate
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October 12, 2015 - Status Updates, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Online Reviews
Status Updates: People-rating app proves unpopular; new tech automates compelling-photo selection; Twitter 101 for the political class
Bad reviews. On September 30th, the soon-to-be-launched app Peeple was described by the app’s co-founder, Julia Cordray, as a “ Yelp for people ,” that is, a people-rating platform that would allow users to assign number ratings to anyone—anyone at all, fellow Peeple user
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October 07, 2015 - Privacy
ECJ Safe Harbor Opinion Has Implications for All Data Transfers Out of Europe
Yesterday the European Court of Justice (ECJ) followed the core of the Opinion of the Advocate General (AG) in Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner (Case No. C-362/14). In sum, the ECJ held that: 1. Member State Data Protection Authorities (DPA) must be allowed to:
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October 06, 2015 - E-Commerce, Terms of Use
Three Steps to Help Ensure the Enforceability of Your Website’s Terms of Use
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Operators of social media platforms and other websites typically manage their risks by imposing terms of use or terms of service for the sites. As we previously wrote , websites must implement such terms properly to ensure that they are enforceable. Specifically, users must
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