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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Earlier this year, the French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir initiated proceedings before the Paris District Court against Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and 

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French Consumer Association Takes on Internet Giants

French Consumer Association Takes on Internet Giants | Socially Aware

Earlier this year, the French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir initiated proceedings before the Paris District Court against Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., accusing these companies of using confusing and unlawful online privacy policies and terms of use agreements in the French versions of their social media platforms; in particular, the consumer association argued that these online policies and agreements provide the companies with too much leeway to collect and share user data.In a <a href="http://www.quechoisir.org/telecom-multimedia/internet/communique-donnees-personnelles-l-ufc-que-choisir-attaque-les-reseaux-sociaux-et-appelle-les-consommateurs-a-garder-la-main-sur-leurs-donnees">press release</a> published (in French) on its website, UFC-Que Choisir explains that the three Internet companies ignored <a href="http://www.quechoisir.org/telecom-multimedia/internet/communique-l-ufc-que-choisir-met-en-demeure-les-reseaux-sociaux-les-internautes-doivent-garder-la-main-sur-leurs-donnees">a letter</a> that the group had delivered to them in June 2013, containing recommendations on how to modify their online policies and agreements. The group sought to press the companies to modify their practices as part of a consumer campaign entitled “Je garde la main sur mes données” (or, in English, “I keep my hand on my data”).According to the press release, the companies’ refusal to address UFC-Que Choisir’s concerns prompted it to initiate court proceedings. The group has requested that the court suppress or modify a “myriad of contentious clauses,” and alleged that one company had included 180 such “contentious clauses” in its user agreement.The group has also invited French consumers to sign a petition calling for rapid adoption of the EU Data Protection Reform that will replace the current Directive on data protection with <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-186_en.htm">a Regulation</a> with direct effects on the 28 EU Member States. UFC-Que Choisir published two possibly NSFW videos depicting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KniuCvBssD4">a man</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Q-RIgvpBE">a woman</a> being stripped bare while posting to their Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter accounts. A message associated with each video states: “Sur les réseaux sociaux, vous êtes vite à poil” (or, in English, “On social networks, you will be quickly stripped bare”).The campaign is obviously aimed at catching the attention of the French public, and its timing is not coincidental. In April 2013, the French data protection authority (DPA) started coordinating a joint action among France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom to investigate and launch penalty proceedings against Google’s new privacy policy. That policy, issued in March 2012, permitted the company to merge data from different Google services and to use that data across different platforms. So far, the French, <a href="http://www.agpd.es/portalwebAGPD/revista_prensa/revista_prensa/2013/notas_prensa/common/diciembre/131219_NP_AEPD_POL_PRIV_GOOGLE.pdf">Spanish</a> and <a href="http://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/guest/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/3033237">Italian </a>DPAs have issued record fines and the Dutch DPA has condemned the policy.The DPAs observed that any processing of personal information is covered by the national laws of the country where the user resides; this assertion was contested by Google. The DPAs found that Google does not sufficiently inform its users of the conditions under which their personal information is processed, or of the purposes for the processing; as a consequence, users are not able to correctly exercise their rights of access, correction or deletion. Further, the DPAs held that Google doesn’t comply with the obligation to obtain user consent prior to the storage of cookies on their terminal devices, and that it fails to define retention periods applicable to the different data sets it processes, as required under applicable national laws.UFC-Que Choisir also alleges that the three Internet companies provide insufficient information regarding their practices to users. For example, the group argues that the contractual terms displayed on the three companies’ web pages are “inaccessible, unreadable, and full of hyperlinks—between 40 and 100 hyperlinks—sometimes sending back to pages in English.” The group argues in its press release that this allows for the “widespread collection, modification, retention and exploitation of data related to users and their contacts.” The group contrasts Twitter and Facebook policies, which are allegedly “very long and fragmented,” with the Google Plus policy and its “laconic wording.”  The group wants the companies to shorten their contractual terms and notify users when they change their conditions, in order to obtain new and valid consent. According to the group, the three companies afford a “worldwide, unlimited and unremunerated license” to share information with their commercial partners without obtaining valid consent. The group warns consumers: “In short, you are not only being targeted with advertising, but your data may also be commercially exploited without your express consent and without receiving compensation.” UFC-Que Choisir released to the press some examples of allegedly unfair clauses that are currently accessible online.Consumer associations everywhere in Europe want to gain influence over data protection issues. In November 2013, the Berlin District Court upheld similar arguments by the German Federation of Consumer Organisations (VZBV) in proceedings against Google. Germany is expected to pass a bill in the near future that will allow consumer associations to initiate summary proceedings to defend individual rights against infringement of data protection laws. So far, they can only rely on the German Unfair Competition Act where data protection breaches create an economic disadvantage.Consumer associations also think their role will be strengthened by rapid adoption of the EU reform. In its petition (in French), UFC-Que Choisir states that consumers’ control over their own personal information will be put in place as a general principle under the new Regulation. In the provision adopted on March 12, 2014, Parliament increased the fines for companies that violate privacy rules up to EUR 100 million (approximately USD 138 million) or 5 percent of their annual worldwide turnover. Further, the provision reinforces the application of national laws to activities of global companies operating from the U.S. More specifically, the bill clarifies that not only data controllers established outside the EU but also data processors established outside of the EU are subject to EU laws whenever they offer goods or services, regardless of whether payment is required.However, it is questionable whether these developments will be upheld by the Council, as many Member States have stated that they want to remove administrative burdens from companies. While Parliament has expressed the need to rapidly adopt reforms, the Council has not yet started official negotiations to reach a common position. The likelihood of having the proposed Reform adopted by the end of the year is uncertain.As for the case at hand, it may be months before the judge makes a ruling. Paradoxically, the UFC-Que Choisir publicly criticized the much-debated May 13 <a href="http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf?doclang=EN&text=&pageIndex=0&part=1&mode=req&docid=152065&occ=first&dir=&cid=257118">ruling of the European Court of Justice</a> stating that individuals may compel Google to remove links to contested information based on their right to be forgotten. The association said that publishers are responsible for the personal data on their web pages, and not Google. Neutrality goes along with transparency, free movement and freedom of expression on the Internet, all principles that the association says it wants to promote.