Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments.He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.Aaron has been recognized by numerous publications for his work on market-defining technology transactions. He is currently ranked by Chambers USA for “Technology Transactions.”Aaron also serves as co-editor of Socially Aware, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics. Aaron is also a sought-after speaker on new and emerging areas of law, and is a frequent presenter and panelist at conferences and legal services programs. In addition to his active practice, Aaron regularly provides pro bono assistance to various nonprofit and charitable organizations such as Common Sense Media and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.While in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Aaron served as executive editor of the California Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Aaron served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both United States District Judges for the Northern District of California.

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Partner

Aaron is the chair of our Technology Transactions Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data– and technology–intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud computing, AR/VR, AI, gaming, healthcare, consumer electronics, social media, e–commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin–offs, and private equity investments.

Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence Gallick is of counsel in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in both California and New York. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

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Of Counsel

Lawrence Gallick

Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. He advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. His clients include technology, media, and communications companies with considerable intellectual property assets. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of licensing and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He also regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to mobile applications and social media.

Anthony M. Ramirez

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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.

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Lawrence W. Gallick

2024 Recap: Ten Lords A-Leaping!

Social Links: If the Suit Fits

Social Links: Age Verification, X Appeal, and the Great White North

Social Links: Fake Reviews, Real Rulings, and an Epic Fail

Lawrence W. Gallick on Toth v. Everly Well, Inc.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a potentially groundbreaking <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/02/path.shtm">settlement</a> with the social networking app Path and released an important new <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/os/2013/02/130201mobileprivacyreport.pdf">staff report</a> on Mobile Privacy Disclosures late last week.The FTC’s Settlement with Path suggests a new standard may be on the near-term horizon: out-of-policy, just-in-time notice and express consent for the collection of data that is not obvious to consumers in context. The FTC has long encouraged heightened notice and consent prior to the collection and use of sensitive data, such as health and financial information. This settlement, however, requires such notice and consent for the collection and use of information that is not inherently sensitive, but that, from the Commission’s perspective, at least, might surprise consumers based on the context of the collection. Only time will tell, but historically Order provisions like this have tended to become cemented as FTC common law. Moreover, although the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) portions of the settlement do not break new ground, they do serve as a potent—and expensive—reminder that the FTC is highly focused on kids’ privacy online, particularly in the mobile space.The FTC’s Report reinforces this sentiment by encouraging all the major players in the mobile ecosystem—including app developers, ad networks, and trade associations—to increase the transparency of the mobile ecosystem through clear, accessible disclosures about information collection and sharing at appropriate times.

FTC Announces Important Settlement With Social Networking App and Releases New Mobile App Report

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a potentially groundbreaking settlement with the social networking app Path and released an important new staff rep

FTC Announces Important Settlement With Social Networking App and Releases New Mobile App Report

Handing a victory to online retailers, on February 4, 2013, the California Supreme Court held in a split decision that online transactions involving electronically downloadable products fall outside the scope of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act (Apple v. Superior Court (Krescent), S199384). Despite acknowledging the unique fraud issues present in online transactions, the Court refused to decide the broader issue of whether the Act applies to online transactions that do not involve electronically downloadable products or to any other “card not present” transactions that do not involve in-person, face-to-face interaction between the purchasing customer and the retailer. That said, given the Court’s analysis, it is hard to imagine a different outcome for online transactions as a whole.This opinion comes nearly two years after the California Supreme Court’s February 2011 decision in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., which held that for purposes of the Song-Beverly Act, ZIP codes constitute “personal identification information” (PII). The Pineda decision opened a floodgate for lawsuits based on retailers’ collection of ZIP codes, resulting in hundreds of cases against brick-and-mortar retailers. Some online retailers were swept up in the post-Pineda litigation frenzy as well and, since then, online retailers and others involved in e-commerce have been waiting to see if the Act, which prohibits businesses from requesting and recording customers’ PII during credit card transactions, applies to online transactions. Although the majority explicitly limited its holding to online purchases of electronically downloadable products, the Court’s 4-3 decision is consistent with the trend in California trial courts (state and federal), which have concluded that online transactions are exempt from the Act.The “electronically downloadable” transactions at issue in this case involved digital media, i.e., audio and video files customers can purchase and download from the Internet onto their personal computers. The Court held that “this type of transaction does not fit within the statutory scheme,” reasoning that the Legislature did not “intend[] to bring the enormous yet unforeseen advent of online commerce involving electronically downloadable products—and the novel challenges for privacy protection and fraud prevention that such commerce presents—within the coverage of the [Act].” The Court supported this reasoning through an extensive examination of the Act’s text, purpose, and history.Initially, the Court found that the text was not decisive of the issue. Turning to the history and purpose of the Act, the Court explained that “while the Legislature indeed sought to protect consumer privacy, it did not intend to do so at the cost of creating an undue risk of credit card fraud.” For example, the Court focused on the safeguards against fraud provided by Section 1747.08(d) of the Act, which allows retailers to require customers to provide positive identification as a condition of accepting a credit card as payment. Section 1747.08(d) also permits retailers to record certain PII (the customer’s driver’s license number) in “card not present” transactions, which are transactions in which the customer does not make the credit card available for verification. These safeguards evidence the “Legislature’s concern that there be some mechanism by which retailers can verify that a person using a credit card is authorized to do so.” Because application of the Act to electronically downloadable products would provide no mechanism for online retailers to protect against fraud, the Court concluded that the Legislature could not have intended the Act to apply to such products.The Court also rejected arguments that the 2011 amendment to the Act, which created an exception allowing gasoline retailers to collect ZIP codes in “pay-at-the-pump” transactions, somehow shows that the Act applies to online transactions. In particular, the Court rejected the notion that the narrow exception would be unnecessary surplusage if the Act was not intended to apply to remote (or “card not present”) transactions in the first place. Here, the Court focused on the specific problem the Legislature intended to address by amending the Act: to provide relief to gasoline retailers who had been collecting ZIP codes pre-Pineda for fraud prevention purposes. Finding the plaintiff’s view—that the Legislature would have created a fraud prevention exception for gasoline retailers while leaving online retailers unprotected—counterintuitive, the Court observed that online retailers “have at least as much if not more need for an exemption to protect themselves and consumers from fraud.”Although online purchases of electronically delivered goods are unquestionably outside the scope of Song-Beverly, the Court declined to close the door—at least in this decision—to online transactions in general. The Court’s concerns about credit card fraud, however, are hardly unique to electronically downloadable products; the same analysis applies with equal force to online transactions generally (as well as other “card not present” transactions). While the logic of the decision suggests that these transactions should also be outside the scope of the Act, we expect that some enterprising plaintiff’s lawyer may take up the issue left undecided and pursue claims either against catalog merchants, telephone order companies, or even online retailers selling tangible goods. We think retailers have the stronger argument.

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Purvi G. Patel is the former managing partner of the Los Angeles Office. She represents retail, e-commerce, and other businesses in significant advertising, unfair competition, consumer fraud, and privacy 

Purvi G. Patel

Purvi G. Patel defends retail, e-commerce, and other businesses in significant advertising, unfair competition, consumer fraud, and privacy matters. She has built a robust practice defending household names in complex and class action litigation in federal and state courts across the country, winning motions to dismiss, defeating class certification, and securing summary disposition in several multi-million dollar lawsuits. Purvi is a strategic and practical thinker who is in tune with her clients’ priorities, which leads to successful outcomes both inside and outside the courthouse.

Purvi Patel

You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable Products Outside Scope of Song-Beverly Act

Handing a victory to online retailers, on February 4, 2013, the California Supreme Court held in a split decision that online transactions involving electronica

You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable Products Outside Scope of Song-Beverly Act

With the explosive growth of social media, consumers increasingly expect to be able to interact online with the companies from which they buy goods and services. As a result, financial institutions have begun to explore the use of social media, both to strengthen relationships with existing customers and to attract new ones. Financial institutions, however, have proceeded with extreme caution in using social media, in large part due to uncertainty as to the application of financial laws and regulations to social media and, to the extent they are applicable, how a financial institution can comply.In response to industry requests for guidance on the use of social media, on January 23, 2013, the <a href="http://www.ffiec.gov/">Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council</a> (FFIEC) requested public comment on proposed guidance (“Proposed Guidance”) for financial institutions relating to the use of social media. The Proposed Guidance is intended to help financial institutions understand potential risks associated with the use of social media and to communicate the expectations of the agencies that make up the FFIEC for how financial institutions should manage these risks. The Proposed Guidance, however, largely does not address how a financial institution may comply with any particular requirement when using social media.The following provides an overview of the Proposed Guidance, which may be found <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-23/pdf/2013-01255.pdf">here</a>. Comments on the Proposed Guidance must be submitted to the FFIEC by March 25, 2013.Background on the FFIECThe FFIEC is a formal interagency body that is authorized to prescribe uniform principles, standards and report forms for the examination of financial institutions by the federal banking agencies, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) (collectively, the “Agencies”). Historically, banks were the main type of financial institutions to be the focus of FFIEC supervisory guidance; however, the Dodd-Frank Act expanded the membership of the FFIEC to include not only the federal banking agencies and the NCUA, but also the CFPB. As a result, FFIEC guidance now extends to any person supervised by the CFPB, including many types of non-bank financial institutions, such as mortgage brokers, payday lenders, consumer reporting agencies and debt collectors.The Proposed GuidanceThe Proposed Guidance is intended to help financial institutions understand potential risks associated with their use of social media, including compliance, reputation and operational risks, and to communicate the Agencies’ expectations for how financial institutions should manage these risks. Although the Proposed Guidance clarifies that, if finalized, it would not impose additional obligations on financial institutions, the Agencies each intend to issue any final guidance as supervisory guidance to the institutions that they supervise. As a result, financial institutions subject to the Agencies’ supervisory authority will be expected to use the guidance in their efforts to ensure that their risk management practices adequately address the risks associated with their use of social media, including those outlined in the finalized guidance.“Social Media” DefinedThe Proposed Guidance casts a wide net in defining “social media” as any “form of interactive online communication in which users can generate and share content through text, images, audio, and/or video.” From the Agencies’ perspective, it is social media’s interactive nature that distinguishes it from other online media. The Proposed Guidance includes the following non-exhaustive examples of media that the Agencies believe to fall within the definition:<ul><li>micro-blogging sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter);</li><li>forums, blogs, customer review websites and bulletin boards (e.g., Yelp);</li><li>photo and video sites (e.g., Flickr and YouTube);</li><li>professional networking sites (e.g., LinkedIn);</li><li>virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life); and</li><li>social games (e.g., FarmVille).</li></ul>Risk Management ProgramsA cornerstone of the Proposed Guidance is the expectation that a financial institution will maintain a risk management program through which it identifies, measures, monitors and controls risks related to its use of social media. The Proposed Guidance provides that a financial institution’s risk management program should include the following seven components:<ul><li>A governance structure with clear roles and responsibilities whereby the institution’s board or senior management directs how the use of social media contributes to the institution’s strategic goals and that establishes controls and ongoing risk assessments.</li><li>Policies and procedures regarding the use and monitoring of social media and compliance with applicable consumer protection laws.</li><li>An employee training program regarding the institution’s policies and procedures for official, work-related use of social media, and potentially for other uses of social media, including defining impermissible activities.</li><li>An oversight process for monitoring information posted to proprietary social media sites administered by, or on behalf of, the financial institution.</li><li>A due diligence process for selecting and managing third-party service provider relationships in connection with social media.</li><li>Audit and compliance functions to ensure ongoing compliance with internal policies and applicable law.</li><li>Parameters for reporting to the institution’s board or senior management that will enable periodic evaluations of the social media program.</li></ul>As in other areas of financial law and regulation, the expectation would be that the size and complexity of a financial institution’s risk management program would be commensurate with the breadth of the institution’s involvement in social media. For example, a financial institution that relies heavily on social media should have a more detailed program than a financial institution that uses social media only in a limited manner. Nonetheless, the Proposed Guidance indicates that a financial institution that does not use social media should still be prepared to address the potential for negative comments or complaints related to the institution that may arise within social media and also to provide guidance for employee use of social media.Risk Areas GenerallyThe majority of the Proposed Guidance focuses on identifying potential risks related to a financial institution’s use of social media, including risk of harm to consumers. In particular, the Proposed Guidance identifies potential risks within three broad categories: (1) compliance and legal risk; (2) reputational risk; and (3) operational risk. While the Proposed Guidance catalogs the many risks presented by the use of social media, the focus is on the risks associated with compliance with consumer protection requirements. Nonetheless, the lengthy identification of risk areas would put financial institutions on notice of the broad scope of their responsibilities with respect to the use of social media.Compliance and Legal Risk AreasCompliance and legal risk relates to the risks associated with the failure to comply with laws, rules, regulations, prescribed practices, internal policies and procedures, and ethical standards and the related exposure to enforcement actions and/or private rights of action. The Proposed Guidance cautions that these risks are “particularly pertinent” for an emerging medium like social media where a financial institution’s policies and procedures may not have kept pace with changes in the marketplace.Although a financial institution would be expected to ensure that it periodically evaluates and controls its use of social media to ensure compliance with all applicable legal obligations, the Proposed Guidance identifies examples of more than 15 federal laws where a financial institution may be exposed to compliance and legal risk. These examples are broken down into five general categories: (1) privacy; (2) deposit and lending products; (3) payment systems; (4) anti-money laundering; and (5) community reinvestment. Of note, none of these includes any exception regarding the use of social media. As a result, the Proposed Guidance cautions that, to the extent a financial institution uses social media to engage in covered activity (e.g., advertising a credit product), it would be required to comply with any applicable legal requirement that may relate to that covered activity.We highlight below certain compliance risks identified in the Proposed Guidance that may be relevant to many financial institutions:Privacy<ul><li>A financial institution using social media should clearly disclose its privacy policies where required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.</li><li>A financial institution maintaining its own social media site should ensure that it maintains and follows policies restricting access to the site to users 13 or older in a manner consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.</li><li>A financial institution should consider whether any unsolicited communication sent to consumers via social media complies with the limitations of the CAN-SPAM Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.</li></ul>Deposit and Lending Products<ul><li>A lender should ensure that its use of social media does not violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibition on making statements in advertising that would discourage, on a prohibited basis, a reasonable person from applying for credit.</li><li>A lender that advertises credit products in any form of social media communication should ensure that it does so in a manner that complies with Regulation Z’s advertising requirements.</li><li>A debt collector must comply with Fair Debt Collection Practices Act limitations when conducting covered activities through social media, including, for example, being cognizant that that any social media communication does not disclose the existence of a debt or harass or embarrass consumers about their debts (e.g., a debt collector writing about a debt on a Facebook wall).</li></ul>Payment Systems<ul><li>A financial institution using social media to facilitate an electronic fund transfer for a consumer should consider whether it is required by Regulation E to, for example, provide any required disclosures to the consumer.</li></ul>Anti-Money Laundering<ul><li>Financial institutions should be aware of emerging areas of Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering risk in connection with social media, including, for example, the fact that virtual world Internet games and digital currencies present a high risk for money laundering and terrorist financing and should be monitored accordingly.</li></ul>Community Reinvestment<ul><li>A depository institution subject to the Community Reinvestment Act should ensure that its policies and procedures for its own social media properties address the appropriate monitoring of public comments.</li></ul>Reputational Risk AreasFor purposes of the Proposed Guidance, reputational risk relates to the risks arising from negative public opinion. A financial institution engaged in social media activities would be expected to be sensitive to and properly manage the reputational risks that may arise from its social media activities. The Proposed Guidance provides a number of considerations for financial institutions related to reputational risk in the context of social media use, including that a financial institution should:<ul><li>have appropriate policies in place to monitor and address in a timely manner the fraudulent use of its brand, such as through phishing or spoofing attacks;</li><li>have procedures to address risks associated with members of the public posting confidential or sensitive information (e.g., an account number) on the institution’s social media page or site;</li><li>weigh the risks and the benefits of using a third party to conduct social media activities, including, for example, the ability of a financial institution to control content on a site owned or administered by a third party; and</li><li>consider the feasibility of monitoring question and complaint forums on social media sites to ensure that customer inquiries, complaints or comments are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.</li></ul>Operational Risk AreasFor purposes of the Proposed Guidance, operational risk relates to the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed processes, people or systems. These include the risks posed by a financial institution’s use of information technology, including social media. In light of the vulnerability of social media platforms, the Proposed Guidance indicates that a financial institution should ensure that its internal controls designed to protect its information technology systems and to safeguard customer information from malicious software adequately address social media usage. And, in a related point, a financial institution’s incident response program should extend to security incidents involving social media. *          *          *          *If the FFIEC finalizes the Proposed Guidance, financial institutions should expect that the Agencies will independently issue the finalized guidance as supervisory guidance to the institutions that they supervise. In such a case, financial institutions will be expected to use the guidance as part of their efforts to address the risks associated with the use of social media and to ensure that their risk management programs provide effective oversight and controls related to the use of social media. Until final guidance is in place, it is important for financial institutions to be cognizant of and consider the extent of their usage of social media and the risks associated with that use and whether existing controls address the types of risks identified in the Proposed Guidance. Finally, financial institutions may also wish to consider whether they will provide comments to the FFIEC on the Proposed Guidance, including, for example, identifying any technological or other impediments to compliance with otherwise applicable law when using social media.

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Recognized as an authority on financial privacy issues, Nathan helps financial institutions and other companies develop practical solutions for complying with privacy and data security laws. In partic

Nathan D. Taylor

Nathan Taylor

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Clients seek out Julie because of her practical advice on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of privacy and consumer protection laws. She provides clients with practical solutions to compliance c

Julie O'Neill

Clients seek out Julie because of her practical advice on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of privacy and consumer protection laws. She provides clients with practical solutions to compliance challenges around a wide variety of both online and offline privacy issues, including tracking, interest-based advertising, geo-targeting and other mobile tracking, personalization, and cross-device tracking. Recognized in The Legal 500 US 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2020 and Chambers USA 2021 for her exceptional legal work, her clients praise her saying, “She is really good at giving practical, targeted advice and taking stock of what the risk profile of the client is, so that the advice is holistic.” (Chambers USA 2021).

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Watch What You Tweet: Proposed Social Media Guidance for Financial Institutions

Watch What You Tweet: Proposed Social Media Guidance for Financial Institutions

With the explosive growth of social media, consumers increasingly expect to be able to interact online with the companies from which they buy goods and services

2012 was a momentous year for social media law. We’ve combed through the court decisions, the legislative initiatives, the regulatory actions and the corporate trends to identify what we believe to be the ten most significant social media law developments of the past year–here they are, in no particular order:<a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca4/12-1671/12-1671-2013-09-18.html">Bland v. Roberts</a> – A Facebook “like” is not constitutionally protected speechFormer employees of the Hampton Sheriff’s Office in Virginia who were fired by Sheriff B.J. Roberts, sued claiming they were fired for having supported an opposing candidate in a local election. Two of the plaintiffs had “liked” the opposing candidate’s Facebook page, which they claimed was an act of constitutionally protected speech. A federal district court in Virginia, however, ruled that a Facebook “like” “…is insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection”; according to the court, “liking” involves no actual statement, and constitutionally protected speech could not be inferred from “one click of a button.”This case explored the increasingly-important intersection of free speech and social media, with the court finding that a “like” was insufficient to warrant constitutional protection. The decision has provoked much criticism, and it will be interesting to see whether other courts will follow the Bland court’s lead or take a different approach.New York v. Harris – Twitter required to turn over user’s information and tweetsIn early 2012, the New York City District Attorney’s Office subpoenaed Twitter to produce information and tweets related to the account of Malcolm Harris, an Occupy Wall Street protester who was arrested while protesting on the Brooklyn Bridge. Harris first sought to quash the subpoena, but <a href="https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/owsharrismtqdecision.pdf">the court denied the motion</a>, finding that Harris had no proprietary interest in the tweets and therefore did not have standing to quash the subpoena. Twitter then filed a motion to quash, but the <a href="http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/owsharristwitterdec63012.pdf">court also denied its motion</a>, finding that Harris had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his tweets, and that, for the majority of the information sought, no search warrant was required.This case set an important precedent for production of information related to social media accounts in criminal suits. Under the Harris court’s ruling, in certain circumstances, a criminal defendant has no ability to challenge a subpoena that seeks certain social media account information and posts.The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its third guidance document on workplace social media policiesThe NLRB issued guidance regarding its interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and its application to employer social media policies. In its guidance document, the NLRB stated that certain types of provisions should not be included in social media policies, including: prohibitions on disclosure of confidential information where there are no carve-outs for discussion of an employer’s labor policies and its treatment of employees; prohibitions on disclosures of an individual’s personal information via social media where such prohibitions could be construed as limiting an employee’s ability to discuss wages and working conditions; discouragements of “friending” and sending unsolicited messages to one’s co-workers; and prohibitions on comments regarding pending legal matters to the degree such prohibitions might restrict employees from discussing potential claims against their employer.The NLRB’s third guidance document illustrates the growing importance of social media policies in the workplace. With social media becoming an ever-increasing means of expression, employers must take care to craft social media policies that do not hinder their employees’ rights. If your company has not updated its social media policy in the past year, it is likely to be outdated.<a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12279872483928107605&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Fteja v. Facebook, Inc.</a> and <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/3:2012cv01721/253511/44/">Twitter, Inc. v. Skootle Corp.</a> – Courts ruled that the forum selection clauses in Facebook’s and Twitter’s terms of service are enforceableIn the Fteja case, a New York federal court held that a forum selection clause contained in Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (its “Terms”) was enforceable. Facebook sought to transfer a suit filed against it from a New York federal court to one in Northern California, citing the forum selection clause in the Terms. The court found that the plaintiff’s clicking of the “I accept” button when registering for Facebook constituted his assent to the Terms even though he may not have actually reviewed the Terms, which were made available via hyperlink during registration.In the Skootle case, Twitter brought suit in the Northern District of California against various defendants for their spamming activities on Twitter’s service. One defendant, Garland Harris, who was a resident of Florida, brought a motion to dismiss, claiming lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue. The court denied Harris’s motion, finding that the forum selection clause in Twitter’s terms of service applied. The court, however, specifically noted that it was not finding that forum selection clauses in “clickwrap” agreements are generally enforceable, but rather “only that on the allegations in this case, it is not unreasonable to enforce the clause here.”Fteja and Skootle highlight that potentially burdensome provisions in online agreements may be enforceable even as to consumers; in both cases, a consumer seeking to pursue or defend a claim against a social media platform provider was required to do so in the provider’s forum. Both consumers and businesses need to be mindful of what they are agreeing to when signing up for online services.Six states passed legislation regarding employers’ access to employee/applicant social media accountsCalifornia, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey enacted legislation that prohibits an employer from requesting or requiring an employee or applicant to disclose a user name or password for his or her personal social media account.Such legislation will likely become more prevalent in 2013; Texas has a similar proposed bill, and California has a proposed bill that would expand its current protections for private employees to also include public employees.Facebook goes publicFacebook raised over $16 billion in its initial public offering, which was one of the most highly anticipated IPOs in recent history and the largest tech IPO in U.S. history. Facebook’s peak share price during the first day of trading hit $45 per share, but with a rocky first few months fell to approximately $18—sparking shareholder lawsuits. By the end of 2012, however, Facebook had rebounded to over $26 per share.Facebook’s IPO was not only a big event for Facebook and its investors, but also for other social media services and technology startups generally. Many viewed, and continue to view, Facebook’s success or failure as a bellwether for the viability of social media and technology startup valuations.Employer-employee litigation over ownership of social media accounts2012 saw the settlement of one case, and continued litigation in two other cases, all involving the ownership of business-related social media accounts maintained by current or former employees.In the settled case of <a href="http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/77786829?access_key=key-kfqdesukdoeh8asbkg4">PhoneDog LLC v. Noah Kravitz</a>, employer sued employee after the employee left the company but retained a Twitter account (and its 17,000 followers) that he had maintained while working for the employer. The terms of the settlement are confidential, but news reports indicated that the settlement allowed the employee to keep the account and its followers.In two other pending cases, <a href="http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=historical">Eagle v. Edcomm</a> and <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5901156139035785537&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholar">Maremont v. Susan Fredman Design Group LTD</a>, social media accounts originally created by employees were later altered or used by the employer without the employees’ consent.These cases are reminders that, with the growing prevalence of business-related social media, employers need to create clear policies regarding the treatment of work-related social media accounts.California’s Attorney General went after companies whose mobile apps allegedly did not have adequate privacy policiesStarting in late October 2012, California’s Attorney General gave notice to developers of approximately 100 mobile apps that they were in violation of California’s Online Privacy Protection Act (OPPA), a law that, among other things, requires developers of mobile apps that collect personally identifiable information to “conspicuously post” a privacy policy. Then, in December 2012, California’s Attorney General filed its first suit under OPPA against Delta, for failing to have a privacy policy that specifically mentioned one of its mobile apps and for failing to have a privacy policy that was sufficiently accessible to consumers of that app.Privacy policies for mobile applications continue to become more important as the use of apps becomes more widespread. California’s OPPA has led the charge, but other states and the federal government may follow. In September, for instance, Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr6377/text">The Mobile Device Privacy Act</a> in the U.S. House of Representatives, which in some ways would have similar notice requirements as California’s OPPA.Changes to Instagram’s online terms of service and privacy policy created user backlashIn mid-December 2012, Instagram released an updated version of its online terms of service and privacy policy (collectively, “Terms”). The updated Terms would have allowed Instagram to use a user’s likeness and photographs in advertisements without compensation. There was a strong backlash from users over the updated Terms, which ultimately led to Instagram apologizing to its users for the advertisement-related changes, and reverting to its previous language regarding advertisements.Instagram’s changes to its Terms, and subsequent reversal, are reminders of how monetizing social media services is often a difficult balancing act. Although social media services need to figure out how they can be profitable, they also need to pay attention to their users’ concerns.The defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA)Two bills, SOPA and PIPA—which were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, respectively, in late 2011—would have given additional tools to the U.S. Attorney General and intellectual property rights holders to combat online intellectual property infringement. A strong outcry, however, arose against the bills from various Internet, technology and social media companies. The opponents of the bills, who claimed the proposed legislation threatened free speech and innovation, engaged in various protests that included “blacking out” websites for a day.  These protests ultimately resulted in the defeat of these bills in January 2012.The opposition to and subsequent defeat of SOPA and PIPA demonstrated the power of Internet and social media services to shape the national debate and sway lawmakers. With prominent social media services such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr opposed to the bills, significant public and, ultimately, congressional opposition followed.  Now that we’ve witnessed the power that these services wield when acting in unison, it will be interesting to see what issues unite them in the future.

Socially Aware Looks Back: The Social Media Law Year in Review