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 07, 2012 - Terms of Use, Privacy, Employment Law, IP
Editor’s Predictions for 2012
By: Aaron P. Rubin
To ring in the New Year, the Socially Aware editors provide their predictions regarding social media law and business developments in the coming year (please keep in mind that, if we were good at this prediction thing, we wouldn’t be practicing law for a
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January 06, 2012 - FTC, Privacy
Proposed Facebook Settlement Underscores the FTC’s Privacy Priorities
By: Julie O'Neill
On November 29, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a proposed order against Facebook that builds upon both the FTC’s recommendations from its 2010 draft privacy report and precedents set in the order that it recently imposed on Google. Any business that collects
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January 06, 2012 - Statistics
2011: Top Facebook Status Updates
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January 06, 2012 - Privacy, Discovery, Litigation
Standard for Discovery of Anonymous Internet Users’ Identities Remains in Flux
Plenty of press attention has been given to social media sites’ views on whether their users can use “handles” or pseudonyms instead of their real names. But much of the Internet’s social conversation remains dependent upon that dot-com staple, the anonymous message board. In
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January 06, 2012 - Statistics
2011: Most Tweeted Events
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January 06, 2012 - Privacy
Tracking the Trackers: Social Media Companies Face Pressure for Tracking Users’ Browsing Habits
Facebook is facing renewed scrutiny following efforts to explain its data collection practices, which include tracking where and when members and nonmembers are browsing after they visit a Facebook page. At the end of 2011, USA Today reported on how Facebook tracks user browsing
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January 06, 2012 - Statistics
2011: Most Popular YouTube Videos
1. Rebecca Black’s “ Friday ” 2. “ Ultimate Dog Tease ” by Talking Animals 3. “ Jack Sparrow ” by The Lonely Island (feat. Michael Bolton) 4. “ Talking Twin Babies ” by Randy McEntee 5. “ Nyan Cat ” by Christopher Torres
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January 06, 2012 - Securities Law
Updated FINRA Guidance on Social Media Websites and the Use of Personal Devices
On August 18, 2011, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) issued Regulatory Notice 11-39 providing guidance to broker-dealer members on social networking websites and business communications. The notice represents FINRA’s first update to its guidance on social media since the release of Regulatory
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January 06, 2012 - Privacy
Agreement Reached in Belgium on Google Street View Privacy Concerns
2010 and 2011 witnessed Google’s rollout of Street View , the search company’s mobile panoramic mapping service, in a number of European countries — but not without challenges to the Internet giant, which has had to enter into a variety of agreements with local
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January 06, 2012 - DMCA, Terms of Use
Northern District of California Court Addresses the Law of the (Virtual) Horse (and Bunny)
Online “virtual worlds,” such as Second Life , have their own cultures, customs and economies. This presents new challenges for applying existing intellectual property laws to user-created content in such virtual worlds, as illustrated by a recent case in the Northern District of California,
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