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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Partner

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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Lawrence W. Gallick

Social Links: If the Suit Fits

Social Links: Age Verification, X Appeal, and the Great White North

Social Links: Fake Reviews, Real Rulings, and an Epic Fail

Lawrence W. Gallick on Toth v. Everly Well, Inc.

Social Links: Going Back to Cali

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<a href="https://www.mofo.com/people/eric-tate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eric Akira Tate</a> spoke to TechRepublic about how businesses should think about establishing or updating corporate social media policies to account for the changing standards, especially as the U.S. is in the midst of a civil rights movement.“Reviewing social media policies so that there are no misunderstandings about what use of social media is acceptable or not for an employer is all the more appropriate to do now,” Eric said, adding that employers should have policies in place to prevent employees from inadvertently or purposefully interfering with the employer’s desired image.“A policy puts employees on notice of what conduct or use of social media is allowed and not allowed within the parameters of their employment and work for the employer,” he said. “It allows employers to have more consistent enforcement in the event of improper behavior.”Eric also recommended reviewing existing social media policies to cover the increase in remote work, “Being careful about taking selfies with computer screens or work papers in the background, for example, could inadvertently reveal confidential business information.”Read the <a href="https://www.techrepublic.com/article/a-strong-social-media-policy-can-protect-your-brand-and-avoid-embarrassing-posts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full article</a>.

A Strong Social Media Policy Can Protect Your Brand and Avoid Embarrassing Posts

Eric Akira Tate spoke to TechRepublic about how businesses should think about establishing or updating corporate social media policies to account for the changi

A Strong Social Media Policy Can Protect Your Brand and Avoid Embarrassing Posts

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 to online platforms when third parties post infringing content. <a href="https://gizmodo.com/u-s-copyright-office-says-its-time-to-update-the-dmca-1843608938" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read about the Copyright Office’s issues</a> with the current takedown system.Malwarebytes, an online filtering company, has <a href="https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/351493/anti-malware-company-wants-supreme-court-to-interv.html">asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari</a> in a case brought by one of Malwarebytes’ competitors, Enigma Software, alleging that—when Malwarebytes flagged one of Enigma’s most popular offerings as a potential threat—Malwarebytes, among other things, committed a deceptive business practice. The Ninth Circuit <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2020/04/07/computer-service-providers-face-implied-limits-on-cda-immunity/#more-9504">refused to dismiss the case</a>, holding that Section 230(c)(2) of the Communications Decency Act did not insulate Malwarebytes from liability.A <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/13/tech/french-hate-speech-social-media-law/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new law in France</a> would impose fines of up to $1.36 million on technology platforms that fail to take down terrorist and child pornography content within one hour of that content being flagged, or fail to remove hateful comments that concern topics including gender or disability within 24 hours of being flagged.Members of the Florida Bar who <a href="https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2020/05/12/the-florida-bar-is-taking-a-hard-look-at-lawyers-social-media-content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deliver targeted ads through social media</a> must comply with that state bar’s more restrictive direct solicitation rules rather than its general advertising rules.A law firm fired one of its Dallas-based employees after learning <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/law-firm-worker-fired-after-posting-threat-against-face-mask-requirements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he had posted to his personal social media account</a> a rant about businesses requesting him to wear a mask to thwart the possibility of spreading or catching the COVID-19 virus. The rant included a threat to “show [his] Glock 21” handgun shooting range results to “the lame security guard outside of a ghetto store.”The New Jersey Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Review Board (DRB) decided that John Robertelli, a Rivkin Radler lawyer, violated the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct when—in order to gather evidence while acting as counsel for defendants in a personal injury case—Robertelli surreptitiously accessed the private Facebook account of the plaintiff, whom Robertelli knew was represented by opposing counsel. The DRB also recommended that the New Jersey Supreme Court adopt a policy on using social media for discovery purposes. <a href="https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2020/05/13/lawyer-faces-admonition-over-facebook-friending-to-gather-information-on-litigant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read the guidelines the DRB suggested</a>.Big changes are afoot at Facebook, which has recently introduced <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/19/facebook-shops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shops</a>, allowing users to purchase products directly from businesses’ Facebook pages, and announced the addition of new features to Workplace, the company’s “<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/21/facebooks-workplace-now-with-5m-paying-users-adds-drop-in-video-rooms-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">enterprise-focused chat and video platform</a>.”

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Clients seek out Julie because of her practical advice on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of privacy and consumer protection laws. She provides clients with practical solutions to compliance c

Julie O'Neill

Clients seek out Julie because of her practical advice on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of privacy and consumer protection laws. She provides clients with practical solutions to compliance challenges around a wide variety of both online and offline privacy issues, including tracking, interest-based advertising, geo-targeting and other mobile tracking, personalization, and cross-device tracking. Recognized in The Legal 500 US 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2020 and Chambers USA 2021 for her exceptional legal work, her clients praise her saying, “She is really good at giving practical, targeted advice and taking stock of what the risk profile of the client is, so that the advice is holistic.” (Chambers USA 2021).

Social Links: A report suggesting DMCA changes; a new social-media-use regulation for Fla. Bar members; big changes at Facebook

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 th

Social Links: A report suggesting DMCA changes; a new social-media-use regulation for Fla. Bar members; big changes at Facebook

In 2016, brands spent $570 million on social influencer endorsements on Instagram alone. This recode article takes a looks at how much influencers with certain followings can command, and whether they’re worth the investment.And don’t overlook the legal issues associated with the use of social media influencers; the FTC just settled its first complaint against social media influencers individually. The case involved two online gamers who posted videos of themselves promoting a gaming site that they failed to disclose they jointly owned.In a precedent setting opinion, the European Court of Human Rights held that the right to privacy of a Romanian man, Bogdan Bărbulescu, was violated when Bărbulescu’s employer, without explicitly notifying Bărbulescu, read personal messages that Bărbulescu sent from an online account that Bărbulescu had been asked to set up for work purposes.In other European news, the attorney general for England and Wales, Jeremy Wright, MP, has begun an inquiry into whether that jurisdiction needs to impose restrictions on social media in order to help ensure criminal defendants there get a fair trial.More than half of Americans 50 or older now get their news from social media sites, Pew Research Center’s 2017 social media survey shows.Celebrities who promote initial coin offerings (ICOs) on social media risk violating laws that apply to the public promotion of securities.Facebook developed an artificial intelligence robot that can express emotion by making realistic facial expressions at appropriate times.A college student has sued Snapchat and the Daily Mail for alleged defamation and invasion of privacy arising from the use of the student’s name and image on Discover, Snapchat’s social news feature, under the headline, “Sex, Drugs and Spring Break—College Students Descent on Miami to Party in Oceans of Booze and Haze of Pot Smoke.”Is the threat of artificial intelligence disrupting a slew of industries less imminent than we thought?Google created a website that uses fun illustrations to show which “how to” queries its users entered into the search engine most.The popularity of online videos that viewers can appreciate with the sound turned off has led to striking similarities between early silent film and modern social video.

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 Rubin

Social Links: Social media influencers earn big bucks for endorsements, while the FTC settles a suit against influencers; European court sides with employee axed over emails reviewed by employer

In 2016, brands spent $570 million on social influencer endorsements on Instagram alone. This recode article takes a looks at how much influencers with certain 

Social Links: Social media influencers earn big bucks for endorsements, while the FTC settles a suit against influencers; European court sides with employee axed over emails reviewed by employer

A federal appeals court in Miami held that a judge needn’t necessarily recuse herself from a case being argued by <a href="http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/nation-and-world/legal-ruling-facebook-friends-arent-necessarily-real-friendsphoto-20170823" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a lawyer with whom the judge is merely Facebook “friends.”</a>Bills in both houses of Congress propose amending <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/12/15/the-decline-and-fall-of-section-230/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act</a> to clarify that it doesn’t insulate website operators from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2017/08/01/senate-launches-bill-to-remove-immunity-for-websites-hosting-illegal-content-spurred-by-backpage-com/?utm_term=.104aa26c1da9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">liability for violating civil or criminal child-sex-trafficking laws</a>.The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that an unemployment-benefits board acted appropriately when it <a href="http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/id=1202797015936/Court-Reaffirms-Social-Medias-Role-in-UC-Benefits-Rulings?mcode=0&curindex=0&curpage=ALL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relied, in part, on an applicant’s Facebook post</a> to determine that the applicant was not entitled to benefits.A Texas law makes <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/irl/texas-davids-law-cyberbullying/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cyberbullying punishable</a> by as much as a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $4,000.Google is trying to make it more difficult to find and profit from <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-24/google-rolls-out-its-biggest-crackdown-on-youtube-hate-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube videos that contain</a> extremist content by placing warnings on those videos and disabling the advertising on them.A company backed by Mark Cuban is planning to create a social media platform that will anonymize its users’ identities using blockchain technology and attempt to cut down on trolls by charging people with bad reputations on the platform more for premium services.The online publishing platform Medium is giving some of its content writers the option to put their work behind Medium’s subscription pay wall and <a href="https://blog.medium.com/expanding-the-medium-partner-program-3be09dd146e4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">get paid based on the number of “claps” that work gets</a>.Evolutionary psychologists aren’t at all surprised by the popularity of <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/why-do-we-love-to-snoop-on-social-media-it-might-be-in-our-biology-77482" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">snooping on social media</a>.Tips for law firm marketers on how to <a href="http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/id=1202796969152/Instagram-The-Next-Frontier-for-Law-Firm-Branding?mcode=1202619332875&curindex=3&curpage=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best leverage Instagram</a>.Advice on how to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/smarter-living/what-youre-truly-saying-with-your-out-of-office-reply.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Fsmarter-living&action=click&contentCollection=topics&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pen the best automated out-of-office reply</a>.When you visit someone’s home these days, <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/millennials-are-killing-doorbells-amp-honestly-good-riddance-249740?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">do you use the doorbell or text instead</a>?

Social Links: Bills that would take a bite out of §230; court opinion on social media & ethics; using evidence on social media to determine unemployment benefits eligibility

A federal appeals court in Miami held that a judge needn’t necessarily recuse herself from a case being argued by a lawyer with whom the judge is merely Faceboo

Social Links: Bills that would take a bite out of §230; court opinion on social media & ethics; using evidence on social media to determine unemployment benefits eligibility

A federal district court in Wisconsin <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/judge-blocks-law-regulating-where-augmented-reality-games-can-be-played/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">struck down</a> the first law in the country requiring augmented-reality-game makers to go through a complicated permit-application process before their apps could be used in county parks.The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 13 will implement <a href="http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/Articles/2017/08/04/SCOTUS-e-filing-8-4-17" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an electronic filing system</a>, making all new documents available to the public for free. In another attempt to advance its use of technology, SCOTUS updated its website.Approximately 40% of the world’s population is now active on social media.Researchers who tried to identify people suffering from depression by <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4761452/AI-spot-signs-depression-Instagram-photos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">examining their Instagram photos</a> had a 70% success rate.DoNotPay, a chatbot that has helped drivers to overturn 375,000 parking tickets so far, is <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/donotpay_legal_chatbot_now_covers_1000_areas_of_the_law_and_creates_additio/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expanding to help consumers tackle nearly one thousand other legal issues</a> without the help of an attorney.The number of Internet-of-Things-related companies is fast multiplying. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2017/07/10/iot-in-the-usa-3000-companies-125b-in-funding-613b-in-valuation-342000-employees/#17e188f43ef5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">This Forbes piece</a> lists the IoT categories that are attracting the most interest from entrepreneurs and investors.Companies that allow hiring managers to <a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202793094138/Social-Media-Sleuthing-of-Job-Candidates-Could-Be-Risky-Business?mcode=1202617075486&curindex=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out job candidates’ social media accounts</a> could be exposing themselves to legal trouble.Beware requests to connect on social media from people you don’t actually know. A known hacker group <a href="http://time.com/4888350/linkedin-social-media-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">used a fake LinkedIn profile to connect with people working at certain companies</a> and trick them into installing malware on their company computers.Using blockchain, companies organized as <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2017/04/23/companies-of-the-future-no-ceo-no-boss-managed-by-blockchain/?utm_content=bufferb6e1e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Decentralized Autonomous Organizations</a> do away with the need for senior executives and managers by allowing stakeholders to vote on every decision the company faces—including the fate of employees who underperform.A survey of 2,000 Britons about their pet social-media-peeves showed that bragging about your kids might hurt your popularity online. Read the full list of cyber activities that most people consider Facebook faux pas.

Social Links: SCOTUS embraces technology; IoT companies proliferate; blockchain might make senior execs extinct

A federal district court in Wisconsin struck down the first law in the country requiring augmented-reality-game makers to go through a complicated permit-applic

Social Links: SCOTUS embraces technology; IoT companies proliferate; blockchain might make senior execs extinct

One year since agreeing with the European Commission to remove hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about it, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/01/social-media-giants-making-progress-on-illegal-hate-speech-takedowns-ec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube are removing flagged content an average of 59% of the time</a>, the EC reports.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit <a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2ndFacebook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held</a> that a catering company violated the National Labor Relations Act when it fired an employee for posting to Facebook a profane rant about his supervisor in response to that supervisor admonishing him for “chitchatting” <a href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/second_circuit/2017/04/union-workers-profane-post-on-facebook-is-protected.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">days before the employee and his coworkers were holding a vote to unionize</a>.The value of the digital currency Ether could surpass Bitcoin’s value by 2018, some experts say.The Washington Post takes a look at how the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/06/08/how-the-nbas-embrace-of-social-media-might-help-it-someday-surpass-the-nfl/?utm_term=.81a00d53d3a6" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> NBA is doing a particularly good job of leveraging social media</a> and technology in general to market itself to younger fans and international consumers.A <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/21/israeli-court-emojis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">judge in Israel ruled in favor of a landlord</a> who took down a rental ad based on his belief that a couple wanted to rent his apartment after they sent him a text message containing festive emoji and otherwise expressing interest in the rental. The landlord brought a lawsuit against the couple for backing out on the deal, and the court held the emoji in the couple’s text “convey[ed] great optimism.” The court further determined that, although the message “did not constitute a binding contract between the parties, [it] naturally led to the Plaintiff’s great reliance on the defendants’ desire to rent his apartment.” For a survey of U.S. courts’ treatment of emoji entered into evidence, read <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/04/20/emoji/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this post</a> on Socially Aware.The owner of a recipe site is <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/food-network-sued-snow-globe-cupcakes-how-video-1009511" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suing the Food Network for copyright infringement</a>, alleging that a video the network posted on its Facebook page ripped off her how-to video for snow globe cupcakes.Twitter’s popularity with journalists has made it a prime target for media manipulators, The New York Times’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/technology/how-twitter-is-being-gamed-to-feed-misinformation.html?ref=media&_r=2&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%20Today%20in%20Entertainment_now_2017-06-01%2006:56:40_ehayden&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Farhad Manjoo reports</a>. As a result, Manjoo claims, the microblogging platform played a key role in many of the past year’s biggest misinformation campaigns.The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University claims that the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account’s blocking of some Twitter users <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-twitter-idUSKBN18X2LR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violates the First Amendment</a> because it suppresses speech in a public forum protected by the Constitution.Pop singer Taylor Swift, who pulled her back catalogue of music from free streaming services in 2014 saying the services don’t fairly compensate music creators, has now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/09/taylor-swift-returns-to-streaming-services-spotify-google-play-music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made her entire catalogue of music accessible via Spotify, Google Play and Amazon Music</a>.To encourage young people in swing constituencies to vote for Labour in the UK’s general election, some Tinder users turned their profiles over to a bot that sent other Tinder users between the ages of 18 and 25 automated messages asking if they were voting and focusing on key topics that would interest young voters.

Social Links: Court disallows firing over Facebook page rant; Ether threatens Bitcoin’s reign as top digital currency; NBA slam dunks social media marketing

One year since agreeing with the European Commission to remove hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about it, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Y

Social Links: Court disallows firing over Facebook page rant; Ether threatens Bitcoin’s reign as top digital currency; NBA slam dunks social media marketing

A court ruled that a particular 98-character tweet wasn’t sufficiently creative to warrant protection under German copyright law.Inspired by <a href="http://thegrio.com/2017/03/07/new-law-is-set-to-make-recording-violent-attacks-on-social-media-a-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recording posted to Snapchat of a physical attack</a> on a 14-year-old boy, a <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California bill</a> would make it illegal to “willfully record a video of the commission of a violent felony pursuant to a conspiracy with the perpetrator.”Instagram just made it easier to identify sponsored content —something required by the <a href="http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2014/12/03/ftc-enforcement-action-confirms-that-ad-disclosure-obligations-extend-to-endorsements-made-in-social-media/">FTC’s endorsement guides</a>.Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia now have laws that make it illegal to distribute sexually explicit photos online without the subject’s permission—content known as “revenge porn” or “non-consensual pornography.” <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/marines-photo-scandal-what-can-revenge-porn-victims-do-n731241" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> explores the efficacy of those laws and other legal-recourse options.A proposed state law would prohibit employers in Texas from discriminating against employees and prospective employees <a href="http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/proposed-texas-law-protects-online-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">based on the political beliefs they express on their personal social media accounts</a> (and in any other non-work-related place).A <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/03/07/fdny-uses-drone-to-help-fight-building-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drone helped New York City fire fighters</a> to extinguish a building fire for the very first time.As part of its crusade against fake news, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/03/05/facebook-fake-news-tool/#64d8adb17ec1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook teamed up with non-partisan fact-checkers</a> including Snopes to flag stories that are “disputed.”The Wall Street Journal interviewed industry experts about <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-artificial-intelligence-will-change-everything-1488856320" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the challenges and opportunities artificial intelligence will present</a> for businesses.A Facebook Messenger chatbot created by 20-year-old helps refugees seeking asylum by asking them a series of jargon-free questions to determine which application they need to submit.The addition of a live-streaming feature helped a dating app in China to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/09/momo-live-streaming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">generate $194.8 million in revenue</a> during Q4 alone.While we’re on the subject of dating, is <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/03/kia-linkedin-flirt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flirting on LinkedIn</a> a faux pas?

Social Links: Instagram makes it easy to label content as “sponsored”; Facebook combats fake news; better firefighting through drones

A court ruled that a particular 98-character tweet wasn’t sufficiently creative to warrant protection under German copyright law. Inspired by a recording posted

Social Links: Instagram makes it easy to label content as “sponsored”; Facebook combats fake news; better firefighting through drones