Socially Aware

August 26, 2016 - Advertising, Endorsement Guides, FTC, Marketing, Privacy, Labor Law, Employment Law, Free Speech, Mobile, Litigation
Social Links: Google penalizes sites with pop-up ads; proposed Federal legislation to criminalize revenge porn; ad industry group questions Kardashians’ social media posts
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Google is cracking down on mobile pop-up ads by knocking down the search-result position of websites that use them. The National Labor Relations Board decided a social media policy that Chipotle had in place for its employees violates federal labor law. A group of
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July 01, 2016 - Data Security, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Employment Law, Litigation
Social Links: Implications of Facebook’s algorithm change; branded emoji; free travel apps
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The Internet is abuzz over the Facebook algorithm change. Here are the implications for marketers and publishers and for regular users. U.S. Customs wants to start collecting the social media accounts for foreign travelers. Court: Woman fired for posting to her Facebook page that
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June 02, 2016 - FTC, Big Data, Employment Law, Compliance, Litigation
Big Data Can Lead to Big Legal Problems For Companies
By: Mary Race
Deluged with an unprecedented amount of information available for analysis, companies in just about every industry are discovering increasingly sophisticated ways to make market observations, predictions and evaluations. Big Data can help companies make decisions ranging from which candidates to hire to which consumers
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May 25, 2016 - Labor Law, Employment Law, Compliance
Don’t Worry, Be (Un)Happy: Does U.S. Labor Law Protect a Worker’s Right to a Bad Attitude?
By: Mary Race
A few months ago, we noted that a Yelp employee’s online “ negative review ” of her employer might be protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), given that the National Relations Labor Board (NLRB) has become increasingly aggressive in protecting an
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April 22, 2016 - European Union, FTC, Protected Speech, Privacy, Employment Law, Ethics, Litigation, Online Endorsements
Social Links—Facebook-spying litigators; employees’ social media posts; Europe’s Right To Be Forgotten
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Defense lawyers who checked out the Facebook page of a plaintiff suing their client can be prosecuted for attorney misconduct, New Jersey judge rules. Norwegian band changes its name to avoid “ social media censorship .” Can public agencies control their employees’ social media
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March 14, 2016 - Labor Law, Employment Law
A Negative Review May Be Protected Activity Under U.S. Employment Law
By: Mary Race
Yelp, Inc. is more accustomed to being on the giving—rather than the receiving—end of a negative review. That changed recently when a Yelp customer service employee, Talia Ben-Ora, posted an open letter to Yelp’s CEO on her blog, lamenting her daily struggle to survive
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March 06, 2016 - Data Security, Privacy, Employment Law
Employer Surveillance of Internet and Email Use in the Workplace in Germany
Is an employer allowed to access an employee’s email account when the employee is on sick leave? To what extent is control permissible when an employee is suspected of illegal activities, e.g., of leaking trade secrets? In Germany, these questions are at the crossroads of
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November 23, 2015 - Protected Speech, Employment Law
The Second Circuit Tackles Employee Rights, Obscenities & Social Media Use
By: Mary Race
Employers took note last year when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that “liking” a Facebook post can qualify as protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB held that the owner of a sports bar violated Section 7 of
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July 17, 2015 - Privacy, Employment Law, Compliance
Employer Access to Employee Social Media: Applicant Screening, “Friend” Requests and Workplace Investigations
By: Melissa M. Crespo
A recent survey of hiring managers and human resource professionals reports that more than 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. This interest in social networking does not end when the candidate is hired: To the contrary, companies are seeking
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June 30, 2015 - Online Promotions, Terms of Use, Labor Law, Copyright, Employment Law, Arbitration, IP, Litigation
Five Social Media Law Issues To Discuss With Your Clients
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The explosive growth of social media has clients facing legal questions that didn’t even exist a few short years ago. Helping your clients navigate this muddled legal landscape will have them clicking “like” in no time. What’s in a Like? Not long ago, the
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