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 06, 2021 - Endorsement Guides, Antitrust, UK, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Social Links: Internet law under Biden; new tech-laws around the world; the UK’s Endorsement Guides
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
Experts anticipate that the incoming Biden administration will be tough on tech. What does that mean for the future of §230 of the Communications Decency Act? The antitrust suit against Google? This NPR piece makes some predictions. Human rights activists are outraged over a
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November 05, 2020 - FTC, FCC, Copyright, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Social Links: Avoid becoming a social-media-scam victim; does stream-ripping site violate copyright law?
By: Julie O'Neill
Reports of social media scams that have caused users to lose money had tripled by the end of 2020’s second quarter, resulting in the loss of $117 million during the first two quarters of this year alone. Romance scams and supposed economic relief offers
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October 28, 2020 - Defamation, Litigation
S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Defamation Case Arising Out of “Battle by Tweet”
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In Ganske v. Mensch , a defamation suit stemming from a “battle by Tweet,” a federal district court in New York held that the allegedly defamatory statements in the defendant’s Tweet were nonactionable statements of opinion and dismissed the case. The case illustrates that
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October 20, 2020 - Fraud, Litigation
Avoiding Claims Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in Connection with Software and Firmware Updates
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A recent ruling in Parziale v. HP, Inc. , arising out of the implementation by Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) of a remote firmware update on many models of the company’s printers, highlights the potentially broad application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). It also
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October 19, 2020 - Advertising, FCC, Influencer Marketing, Discovery, Free Speech
Turkey’s new social media law; social media ad spend; Harvard Law School’s social media policy
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
In an attempt to shut down free speech online, Turkey enacted a law that requires social media platforms with more than a million daily users in Turkey to open an office there or assign a representative who is legally accountable to Turkish authorities. Among
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October 13, 2020 - Artificial Intelligence, IP
In the Public Eye: USPTO Issues Report on AI
By: Tessa Schwartz
The USPTO recently released the report “Public Views on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy”. The report is part of the USPTO’s effort to engage with the innovation community and experts on AI and to promote innovation of AI through appropriate intellectual property incentives.
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October 09, 2020 - News and Announcements
MoFo Associate Takes Law Mentorship to TikTok
Thomson Reuters’ The Daily Docket interviewed Cecillia Xie about her popular TikToks, where she mentors followers and helps them navigate law school and legal careers. “What I want to encourage young attorneys to do is take a step back from the environment of law
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October 05, 2020 - European Union, Copyright
EU Copyright Directive – Quo Vadis: First Steps Towards its German Implementation
By: Christiane Stuetzle and Patricia C. Ernst
SUMMARY On June 7, 2019, the highly controversial EU Copyright Directive (“Directive”) came into force, requiring EU Member States to transpose its provisions into national law by June 7, 2021. To recap, the most relevant provisions of the Directive require the implementation of the
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September 09, 2020 - Cyberbullying, Copyright, Section 230 Safe Harbor
New copyright registration option for bloggers; AT&T’s opinion on CDA §230; questions about YouTube’s anti-hate rules
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A federal district court judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., dismissed the complaint in a case filed by Genius , a platform that lets users share and annotate lyrics, holding that the plaintiff’s claims were preempted by copyright law. The suit alleged that Google had stolen
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August 24, 2020 - User-Generated Content, Defamation, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
EDNY Refuses to Dismiss on § 230 Grounds in “Shitty Media Men” Defamation Case
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In Elliott v. Donegan , a federal district court in New York held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not warrant the dismissal of a defamation claim where the plaintiff’s complaint did not “foreclose[] the possibility that Defendant created or developed
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Welcome to Socially Aware

Social Links: Internet law under Biden; new tech-laws around the world; the UK’s Endorsement Guides

By: Anthony M. Ramirez

Social Links: Avoid becoming a social-media-scam victim; does stream-ripping site violate copyright law?

By: Julie O'Neill

S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Defamation Case Arising Out of “Battle by Tweet”

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Avoiding Claims Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in Connection with Software and Firmware Updates

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

Turkey’s new social media law; social media ad spend; Harvard Law School’s social media policy

By: Anthony M. Ramirez

In the Public Eye: USPTO Issues Report on AI

By: Tessa Schwartz

MoFo Associate Takes Law Mentorship to TikTok

EU Copyright Directive – Quo Vadis: First Steps Towards its German Implementation

By: Christiane Stuetzle and Patricia C. Ernst

New copyright registration option for bloggers; AT&T’s opinion on CDA §230; questions about YouTube’s anti-hate rules

By: Aaron P. Rubin

EDNY Refuses to Dismiss on § 230 Grounds in “Shitty Media Men” Defamation Case

By: Aaron P. Rubin