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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“My Google Home Mini was inadvertently spying on me 24/7 due to a hardware flaw,” wrote a tech blogger who purchased Google Inc.’s latest internet of things (Io

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Connected Devices Bring New Product Liability Challenges

Connected Devices Bring New Product Liability Challenges | Socially Aware

Erin M. Bosman

Julie Y. Park

“My Google Home Mini was inadvertently spying on me 24/7 due to a hardware flaw,” wrote a tech blogger who purchased Google Inc.’s latest internet of things (IoT) device. Following the incident, a pact of consumer advocacy groups insisted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall the Google smart speaker due to privacy concerns arising when the device recorded all audio without voice command prompts.The CPSC is charged with protecting consumers from products that pose potential hazards. Traditionally, this has meant hazards that may cause physical injury or property damage. But as internet-connected household products continue to proliferate, issues like the “always-on” Google Home Mini raise an important question: Where does cybersecurity of consumer IoT devices fit within the current legal framework governing consumer products?<h5>The Explosion of IoT</h5>Forecasts predict that by 2020 IoT devices will account for 24 billion of the 34 billion devices connected to the internet. According to a recent Gemalto survey, “[a] hacker controlling IoT devices is the most common concern for consumers (65%), while six in ten (60%) worry about their data being stolen.”The rapid growth of the IoT market and continued integration into daily life raises the question of which regulatory body or bodies, if any, should be responsible for consumer safety when it comes to cybersecurity for consumer IoT devices.<h5>The Intersection of Consumer Product Safety, Privacy and Cybersecurity</h5>The CPSC’s jurisdiction has traditionally been limited to physical injury and property damage. It is “charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.”Companies reporting potential safety hazards are given the option to categorize the hazard as fire, mechanical, electrocution, chemical or “other.” But “other” has never been used to describe a hazard that did not involve a personal injury or property damage risk. CPSC enforcement actions against manufacturers of IoT devices for security defects that do not lead to physical injury or property damage would be unprecedented.One way to think about CPSC’s potential jurisdiction is over incidents that could give rise to product liability claims. Product liability primarily aims to compensate consumers and bystanders for injuries caused by unsafe products and to incentivize manufacturers and supply-chain participants to take reasonable precautions in producing and distributing products. The underlying policy rationale is that manufacturers are typically in the best position to prevent harms caused by their products.Product recalls seek to remove unsafe products from the market and prevent product liability claims from arising in the first place. But when does a privacy or security breach reach the threshold of a safety hazard or a product defect such that it mandates a recall? And what role do product recalls even play in an age where companies can deploy firmware updates to implement a corrective action for privacy or security breaches?The very features that are potential weaknesses for IoT devices can also be leveraged as strengths. Google demonstrated this by issuing a security patch to address the “always-on” issue in its Google Home Mini.<h5>Protecting Your Business in the Face of Regulatory Uncertainty</h5>How do IoT companies manage regulatory compliance where the regulatory framework is so uncertain and regulators are unable to keep up with technological developments? One possible construct is to anticipate traditional product defect claims that consumers might bring against IoT products, and use the power of connected devices to safeguard against liability while also protecting the product brand.Take, for example, manufacturing defects. Courts may find that errors or oversights in coding, random malfunctions or bugs in the system constitute product liability claims for manufacturing or design defects. But IoT companies can also look at ways to put checks in place to catch these issues early. And the ability of connected devices to provide effective—and even fun—warnings and instructions to consumers about possible flaws is limited only by developers’ creativity.What about failure to warn? Product manufacturers have traditionally had a duty to warn of risks that they know about or reasonably should have known about. We recently wrote about the growing role of artificial intelligence and the implications of product manufacturers’ ability to mine big data. Companies that choose to collect and store that data do assume risks, but they also have the ability to assess problems and develop innovative ways to provide warnings about them.It will take years for government regulators to catch up to these issues and enact applicable regulations, particularly in light of the current administration’s trend toward deregulation. This is a golden opportunity for IoT manufacturers to create their own framework for how best to protect consumers and to balance the risks and benefits of IoT devices.<h5>Where Do New Risks Fit into the Old Framework?</h5>Undoubtedly, the existing product liability framework has limits and doesn’t map perfectly to IoT devices. Consider the “always-on” feature recently brought to the CPSC’s attention. Under the economic loss doctrine, a plaintiff cannot recover monetary damages that don’t arise from physical injury to her person or physical harm to her property. Security breaches may cause an invasion of privacy without causing any physical injury, making the product liability framework inapplicable.As shown by the recent consumer advocacy letter, these groups may argue that security considerations and subsequent risks of IoT devices—while different from traditional public safety concerns—still fall within the CPSC’s broad mandate to “protect the public against unreasonable risk of injuries and death associated with consumer products.” But without a clear CPSC directive that an injury to privacy falls within the requirements to report a safety hazard, IoT manufacturers would be voluntarily involving CPSC should they decide to report incidents similar to the Google Home Mini.Although new regulations could fill the cybersecurity gap, technological innovation is far outpacing regulatory agencies. By the time applicable regulations are in place, they may already be out of date. Consequently, it is incumbent upon industry leaders to work together to pave the way for a robust cybersecurity framework that avoids stifling innovation by overregulation while still protecting consumers from security vulnerabilities.Advances in IoT technology and its continued integration into everyday life are changing traditional notions of consumer product safety. Working closely with product liability, privacy and cybersecurity specialists will allow IoT companies to anticipate legal issues and use technology to stay ahead of regulatory enforcement and consumer-driven lawsuits. This piece originally appeared in <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/998965" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Law360</a>.*                   *                  *For more information on legal issues implicated by the Internet of Things, please see our earlier Socially Aware blog posts, <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/02/02/the-internet-of-things-evaluating-the-interplay-of-interoperability-industry-standards-and-related-ip-licensing-approaches/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Internet of Things: Interoperability, Industry Standards & Related IP Licensing Approaches </a><a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/02/02/the-internet-of-things-evaluating-the-interplay-of-interoperability-industry-standards-and-related-ip-licensing-approaches/">(Part 1)</a>; <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/04/14/the-internet-of-things-evaluating-the-interplay-of-interoperability-industry-standards-and-related-ip-licensing-approaches-part-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Internet of Things: Interoperability, Industry Standards & Related IP Licensing Approaches (Part 2)</a>; and <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2015/02/02/ftc-issues-landmark-report-on-internet-of-things/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FTC Issues Landmark Report on Internet of Things</a>.