Socially Aware: Fake Reviews, Real Rulings, and an Epic Fail
- FAKE REVIEW RULES TAKE EFFECT The Federal Trade Commission’s new rules banning phony online reviews are now in effect. These rules aim to curb false consumer testimonials, the buying of fake reviews from brokers, review suppression, falsifying social media influence, and misrepresentation of company... ›
- - Copyright, Defamation, E-Commerce, Fraud, FTC, Online Reviews, Privacy, Social Media Policy, Trademark, Web Scraping
Social Links: Recent Developments in the Law and Business of Social Media
By: Lawrence W. Gallick, Anthony M. Ramirez and Aaron P. Rubin
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a new rule aimed at curtailing false, misleading, and otherwise fraudulent reviews on online retail sites. Fake reviews are a significant problem for the big e-commerce platforms, given that a robust customer review system is crucial to modern... › An Enforceable Browsewrap . . . or Not?
By: Aaron P. Rubin and Lawrence W. Gallick
On February 12, 2024, in Patrick v. Running Warehouse LLC , the Ninth Circuit held that a defendant’s arbitration agreement contained in a website terms of use was enforceable, using the test the court articulated in 2022 in Daniel Berman v. Freedom Financial Network.... ›Social Links: Behavioral targeting under scrutiny from lawmakers
By: Aaron P. Rubin, Julie O'Neill and Anthony M. Ramirez
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to take aim at social media platforms that collect and use personal information that build algorithms to target individuals across a variety of dimensions when users engage with those platforms, most prominently in the form of advertising and other... ›Facebook rebrands as “Meta;” disables facial recognition capabilities
By: Aaron P. Rubin, Julie O'Neill and Anthony M. Ramirez
In late October, Facebook announced that it would change its name to Meta , signaling a shift of the social media giant’s focus toward the metaverse , a virtual space where social media, gaming, augmented reality, virtual reality, and cryptocurrencies converge and allow people... ›Social Links: A report suggesting DMCA changes; a new social-media-use regulation for Fla. Bar members; big changes at Facebook
By: Julie O'Neill
A new report from the U.S. Copyright Office suggests that Congress should fine-tune the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to, among other things, alter the takedown system that platforms must adhere to in order to be eligible for the safe harbor the DMCA affords... ›Proceed To Check Out? The Impact Of 2018 European E-Commerce Reforms
By: Alistair Maughan, Kristina Ehle and Sana Ashcroft
The European Union (EU) has made reform of the e-commerce rules in Europe one of its main priorities for 2018. The European Commission has already published two proposed Directives relating to cross-border e-commerce but legislative progress has been slow—a situation that the Commission plans... ›Get Your Gripe On: The Consumer Review Fairness Act Is Live
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Searching “millennials killed…” on the Internet returns over 1.5 million results in .65 seconds. Commentators have blamed the generation raised by tablets, smartphones, and apps for killing everything from marriage to brunch , often deriding today’s youth for being too opinionated and too obnoxious.... ›E-tailers Rejoice as Decisions Limit Suits in Federal Court for Alleged Violations of N.J.’s Controversial Consumer Protection Law
Last year, this blog raised concerns regarding the TCCWNA, its growing popularity with plaintiffs’ lawyers and the implications for online retailers. At a high level, the TCCWNA is a New Jersey consumer protection law that focuses on contractual terms (including online terms of service)... ›Social Links: IMDb sues over right to post actors’ ages; Facebook tests jobs feature; Pinterest adopts “tried it” button
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has filed suit to overturn a law that requires the popular entertainment website to remove the ages or birth dates of people in the entertainment industry upon request. Vine might not be history after all. Twitter users posted more than... ›