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.

August 07, 2014 - Employment Law
Ownership of Business-Related Social Media Accounts
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Socially Aware is pleased to announce that Van Rye Publishing has published the article “Ownership of Business-Related Social Media Accounts” by Morrison & Foerster partner Aaron Rubin and associate Anelia Delcheva in the book Employers and the Law: 2013-14 Anthology of Best Articles. The
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August 06, 2014 - Event
MoFo Women London Presents – Networking in the Digital Age: Social media is just another way to talk
Don’t know your ‘like’ from your ‘hashtag’? Got a LinkedIn account, but not sure how to get the most out of it? Use Twitter in your personal life, but not sure how it works in a business context? It is well established that effective
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August 05, 2014 - Privacy
Picture This: Online Photos and Big Data
As the quality of visual recognition software continues to improve, privacy concerns have grown concomitantly. Because we now document our lives with so many pictures posted to social media— Facebook hosts over 250 billion photos, with 350 million new photos added every day —photographs
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July 20, 2014 - Privacy, Litigation
Data for the Taking: Using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Combat Web Scraping
By: Aaron P. Rubin
“Web scraping” or “web harvesting”—the practice of extracting large amounts of data from publicly available websites using automated “bots” or “spiders”—accounted for 18% of site visitors and 23% of all Internet traffic in 2013. Websites targeted by scrapers may incur damages resulting from, among
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July 15, 2014 - Copyright, UK High Court
Copyright: Europe Explores its Boundaries Part 3: “Meltwater” – EU rules that browsing does not need a licence – a victory for common sense (or for pirates)?
On 5 June 2014 the European Court of Justice (CJEU) published its decision in the “Meltwater” Case C-360/13, ( Public Relations Consultations Association Ltd (PRCA) v Newspaper Licensing Agency Ltd (NLA) and Others ). In a ruling that some have hailed as a victory
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July 11, 2014 - Cloud Computing
EU Cloud Standardisation Guidelines
By: Alistair Maughan
In November 2012, we wrote an Alert about the European Commission’s Communication on Cloud Computing intended, it said, to “… unleash the potential of cloud computing in Europe ”. Sceptics were doubtful that the cloud industry needed much help from European regulators to thrive.
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June 30, 2014 - SEC
Social Media and Proxy Contests
As the use of social media continues to grow, social media is likely to play an increasingly more prominent role in proxy contests. In this context, the recent Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations issued by the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance provide helpful clarifications on
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June 27, 2014 - Privacy, Wearable Computers
Google Glass Into Europe – A Small Step or a Giant Leap?
Google Glass (“Glass”) is the most high profile of the new wearable technologies that commentators predict will transform how we live and work. Until now, the Android-powered glasses were only available in the U.S. However, as of this week, Glass has been launched in
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June 25, 2014 - Copyright, IP, Litigation, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Stifles Aereo, but Tries to Keep the Cloud Away
In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in a 6-3 decision that Aereo’s Internet streaming service engages in unauthorized public performances of broadcast television programs in violation of the Copyright Act, reversing the Second Circuit’s decision in American Broadcasting Companies,
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June 24, 2014 - DMCA, Copyright, Litigation
Court Holds That DMCA Safe Harbor Does Not Extend to Infringement Prior to Designation of Agent
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The safe harbor provisions in § 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provide a mechanism that insulates online service providers from monetary damages for infringing materials posted or stored by their users. To receive this protection, service providers must designate an agent
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