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 13, 2014 - Copyright
Ninth Circuit to Reconsider the Curious Copyright Case Requiring YouTube to Take Down All Copies of Anti-Islamic Film
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Earlier this year, Socially Aware noted a peculiar decision out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that an actress owns a copyright interest in her five-second performance in a film and thus could demand the removal of all copies of the film
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November 05, 2014 - Privacy
New California Privacy Law Revisions Will Impact Website and Mobile App Operators With Users Under Age 18
By: Julie O'Neill
Last year, California made child-related revisions to its Online Privacy Protection Act that have ramifications even for websites and other online services that are not directed to children. The revision, “Privacy Rights for California Minors in the Digital World,” imposes obligations on any website,
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November 04, 2014 - Privacy, Employment Law, Litigation
What’s in a Like?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In the pre-Facebook era, the word “like” was primarily a verb (and an interjection sprinkled throughout valley girls’ conversations). Although you could have likes and dislikes in the sense of preferences, you could not give someone a like, claim to own a like or
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October 29, 2014 - Privacy, Cloud Computing
Privacy in the Cloud: A Legal Framework for Moving Personal Data to the Cloud
For many companies, the main question about cloud computing is no longer whether to move their data to the “cloud,” but how they can accomplish this transition. Cloud (or Internet-based on-demand) computing involves a shift away from reliance on a company’s own local computing
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October 28, 2014 - Internet of Things
Drones: Why You Should Start Thinking Now About the Anticipated UAS Regulations
Editor’s Note : At first glance, drones may seem unrelated to the social media and Internet-related issues that we track on Socially Aware. Upon closer examination, however, many social media and Internet companies are exploring the commercial use of drones; for example, Amazon has
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October 27, 2014 - IP
Counterfeit Goods: Has the War on ISPs Just Gotten Tougher?
The pressure on ISPs to take responsibility for the sites accessible through their services has been growing in recent years (e.g., the requirement for certain ISPs to block filesharing sites ). On October 17, 2014, the High Court of England and Wales took this
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October 20, 2014 - Privacy
Entangled in the Web of Things. By Finding New Uses for Data, the Internet of Things Heralds a Host of Challenges.
From our sister blog, MoFo Tech : Within a decade, analysts say, the “Internet of Things” will have transformed our lives. Billions of Internet-connected devices will monitor our homes, businesses, cars, and even our bodies, using the data to manage everything from appliances to
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October 17, 2014 - Copyright, UK High Court
Copyright: Europe Explores Its Boundaries – New UK Infringement Exceptions – The Ones That Came Back Again
By: Mercedes Samavi
Introduction In June of this year, we sent out an alert about the anticipated new UK copyright infringement exceptions. These exceptions were to be introduced based on the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review. Surprisingly, some of the exceptions had been dramatically pulled from the
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October 16, 2014 - Litigation
New York Family Court Magistrate Allows Unprecedented Service of Process via Facebook; Will Others Follow?
In a little-noticed decision, Matter of Noel v. Maria , Support Magistrate Gregory L. Gliedman—a Staten Island, New York family court official—recently permitted a father seeking to modify his child support payments to serve process on the child’s mother by sending her a digital
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October 15, 2014 - Event
Sue McLean Named Finalist for Woman of Achievement Award
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Congratulations to Socially Aware ’s London-based correspondent Sue McLean for being shortlisted for the Women in the City Woman of Achievement Awards 2014. Established in 2007, these awards recognize senior level women who are actively promoting and encouraging the progress of women within their
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Welcome to Socially Aware

Ninth Circuit to Reconsider the Curious Copyright Case Requiring YouTube to Take Down All Copies of Anti-Islamic Film

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

New California Privacy Law Revisions Will Impact Website and Mobile App Operators With Users Under Age 18

By: Julie O'Neill

What’s in a Like?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Privacy in the Cloud: A Legal Framework for Moving Personal Data to the Cloud

Drones: Why You Should Start Thinking Now About the Anticipated UAS Regulations

Counterfeit Goods: Has the War on ISPs Just Gotten Tougher?

Entangled in the Web of Things. By Finding New Uses for Data, the Internet of Things Heralds a Host of Challenges.

Copyright: Europe Explores Its Boundaries – New UK Infringement Exceptions – The Ones That Came Back Again

By: Mercedes Samavi

New York Family Court Magistrate Allows Unprecedented Service of Process via Facebook; Will Others Follow?

Sue McLean Named Finalist for Woman of Achievement Award

By: Aaron P. Rubin