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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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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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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As we have noted previously, YouTube users sometimes object when the online video giant removes their videos based on terms-of-use violations, such as artificia

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California Court Holds That YouTube’s Removal Notice Is Not Defamatory

California Court Holds That YouTube’s Removal Notice Is Not Defamatory | Socially Aware

As we have <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/03/22/currency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted previously</a>, YouTube users sometimes object when the online video giant removes their videos based on terms-of-use violations, such as artificially inflated view counts. In a recent California case, <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2017/h042775.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bartholomew v. YouTube, LLC, </a>the court rejected a user’s claim that the statement YouTube posted after it removed her video, which allegedly gave the impression that the video contained offensive content, was defamatory.Joyce Bartholomew is a musician who creates what she calls “original Christian ministry music.” Ms. Bartholomew produced a video for the song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zQOV3GSWfM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What Was Your Name</a>” and posted the video on YouTube in January 2014. YouTube assigned a URL to the video, which Ms. Bartholomew began sharing with her listeners and viewers. By April 2014, she claims that the video had amassed over 30,000 views.Shortly afterwards, however, YouTube removed the video and replaced it with the image of a “distressed face” and the following removal statement: “This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube’s Terms of Service.” The removal statement also provided a hyperlink to YouTube’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/yt/about/policies/#community-guidelines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Community Guideline Tips</a>,” which identifies 10 categories of prohibited content: “Sex and Nudity,” “Hate Speech,” “Shocking and Disgusting,” “Dangerous Illegal Acts,” “Children,” “Copyright,” “Privacy,” “Harassment,” “Impersonation” and “Threats.”In an exchange between Ms. Bartholomew’s counsel and YouTube, it emerged that YouTube had removed the video because Ms. Bartholomew’s account had violated Paragraph 4(H) of YouTube’s terms of service, which bans the use of automated systems such as “robots” or “spiders” that send “more request messages to the YouTube servers in a given period of time [than] a human can reasonably produce in the same period by using a conventional on-line Web browser.” In other words, YouTube alleged, Ms. Bartholomew had artificially inflated the view count for her video.Ms. Bartholomew sued YouTube for libel based on the removal statement and the hyperlink to the Community Guideline Tips, which she argued had harmed her reputation by implying a “want of character” based on the featured prohibited categories such as sex, nudity, hate speech, etc. YouTube filed a demurrer. The trial court ruled that the removal statement was not libelous, and that the Community Guideline Tips page did not defame Ms. Bartholomew because some of the categories mentioned, such as “Children,” “Copyright” and “Privacy,” do not necessarily suggest offensive conduct. Ms. Bartholomew appealed, arguing that the trial court’s conclusions were erroneous and that both the removal statement and the Community Guideline Tips were defamatory.The California Court of Appeals examined the hyperlink in YouTube’s removal statement, which led to the Community Guideline Tips page. Some of these statements, the court noted, if they were sufficiently directed at Ms. Bartholomew, could constitute libel. However, Ms. Bartholomew had failed to allege “how the hyperlink could be viewed as defaming her personally.” Hyperlinks can be used in many different ways, including providing the viewer with more or less specific information about the subject being discussed on the originating page.Here, the court observed, the Community Guidelines Tips page provided “information more general” than was available on the originating page. An Internet user with a “reasonable working knowledge” of how Internet hyperlinks work would have understood that “no one particular offense could be reasonably read to apply to Bartholomew’s video and that the categories applied to the many thousands of videos that YouTube might have had to remove for any number of reasons.” Given the generality of the Community Guidelines Tips page, the court observed that Ms. Bartholomew had provided “no theory as to how the generalized statements on the Community Guideline Tips page were ever ascribed in any particular way to her.”The court also examined YouTube’s removal statement standing on its own – i.e., the statement “This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube’s Terms of Service.” The removal statement alleges that Ms. Bartholomew breached the Terms of Service, but a statement alleging a breach of contract is not defamatory per se. To support a defamation claim based on such a statement, the plaintiff must<a href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1759551.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> demonstrate that the statement is defamatory by “innuendo</a>” or under a certain reading of the statement, supported by extrinsic facts.Citing its <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2991274174153378376&hl=en&as_sdt=2006&as_vis=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">own precedent</a>, the court held that Ms. Bartholomew had failed to make such a demonstration. Given the breadth of items covered in YouTube’s terms of service, which includes three pages of single-spaced, fine print and a privacy policy, the Court held that the removal statement on its own did not subject Ms. Bartholomew to “hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy” or tend to “injure [her] in [her] occupation.”On November 21, 2017, YouTube cited Bartholomew to defend against similar claims in a three-year-old libel suit, <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/YouTube.Motion.forSumJudg.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Song Fi Inc. v. Google Inc.</a> Much like Ms. Bartholomew, plaintiffs Song Fi and Rasta Rock Opera claimed that Google and YouTube damaged their reputation when YouTube removed their video and posted the removal statement, implying that the video contained improper content.But, in its summary judgment motion in Song Fi, Google argues “Ms. Bartholomew held that the notice, whether on its own or combined with the guidelines, was not capable of conveying a defamatory meaning and was not a statement ‘of and concerning’ the plaintiff.” The Song Fi court <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/YouTube.Order_.on_.Motion.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> Google’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ defamation claim in 2016, but we will be watching closely to see how the court rules on YouTube’s summary judgment motion in light of Bartholomew.