Socially Aware

November 22, 2016 - Online Reviews, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Yelp Case Shows CDA §230 Still Has Teeth
By: Aaron P. Rubin
2016 has been a challenging year for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the website operators who depend on it for protection against liability stemming from user-generated content. An unusually large number of cases this year have resulted in decisions holding
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September 26, 2016 - Internet of Things, Data Security, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Privacy, Online Reviews, Litigation
Social Links: Yelp’s Communications Decency Act claim; Twitter loosens its character limit; building a Snapchat audience
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The California Supreme Court agreed to hear Yelp’s case arguing that requiring the company to remove a one-star review of a law firm “creates a gaping hole” in the immunity that shields internet service providers from suits related to user-generated content. Images, videos and
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August 24, 2016 - Defamation, Online Reviews, Section 230 Safe Harbor
Controversial California Court Decision Significantly Narrows a Crucial Liability Safe Harbor for Website Operators
A recent California court decision involving Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) is creating considerable concern among social media companies and other website operators. As we’ve discussed in past blog posts, CDA Section 230 has played an essential role in the growth
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December 18, 2015 - Endorsement Guides, Online Reviews, Litigation
Frying Small Potatoes: Will Amazon’s Pursuit of Individual Fake-Review Writers Pay Off?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Amazon’s customer reviews have long been a go-to resource for consumers researching prospective purchases. Unfortunately, fake customer reviews—product critiques commissioned by merchants and manufacturers in an effort to bolster their own products’ reputations or undermine their competitors’—have been around for almost as long. Now,
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October 12, 2015 - Status Updates, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Online Reviews
Status Updates: People-rating app proves unpopular; new tech automates compelling-photo selection; Twitter 101 for the political class
Bad reviews. On September 30th, the soon-to-be-launched app Peeple was described by the app’s co-founder, Julia Cordray, as a “ Yelp for people ,” that is, a people-rating platform that would allow users to assign number ratings to anyone—anyone at all, fellow Peeple user
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October 05, 2015 - Online Promotions, Marketing, Online Reviews, Compliance
How UK Brands That Use Vlogger Endorsements & Social Media for Marketing Can Stay on the Right Side of the Law
Vloggers have become the reality stars of our times. For an increasing number of social media users, what was once a hobby is now a lucrative career. You may be surprised to learn that Felix Kjellberg (aka “PewDiePie”), a 25-year-old Swedish comedian and the
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September 16, 2015 - FTC, Online Promotions, Online Reviews, Compliance
FTC Continues Enforcing Ad Disclosure Obligations in New Media and Issues a Warning to Advertisers
By: Julie O'Neill
In December 2014, we noted that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) settlement with advertising firm Deutsch LA, Inc. was a clear signal to companies that advertise through social media that they need to comply with the disclosure requirements of Section 5 of the FTC
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August 10, 2015 - First Amendment, Online Reviews, Litigation
Washington State Court Refuses to Unmask Anonymous Online Reviewer
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Washington Court of Appeals in Thomson v. Doe refused to grant a motion to compel brought by a defamation plaintiff who had subpoenaed the lawyer-review site Avvo.com seeking the identity of an anonymous online reviewer, holding that, for a
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June 29, 2015 - Terms of Use, Online Reviews
The Right to Give One-Star Reviews
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Congress has taken a step toward protecting consumers’ rights to post negative reviews on websites like Ripoff Report or Yelp with the introduction, by Representative Darrell E. Issa of California, of the Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 (the CFRA). The CFRA follows a
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Topic Archives: Online Reviews

Yelp Case Shows CDA §230 Still Has Teeth

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Social Links: Yelp’s Communications Decency Act claim; Twitter loosens its character limit; building a Snapchat audience

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Controversial California Court Decision Significantly Narrows a Crucial Liability Safe Harbor for Website Operators

Frying Small Potatoes: Will Amazon’s Pursuit of Individual Fake-Review Writers Pay Off?

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Status Updates: People-rating app proves unpopular; new tech automates compelling-photo selection; Twitter 101 for the political class

How UK Brands That Use Vlogger Endorsements & Social Media for Marketing Can Stay on the Right Side of the Law

FTC Continues Enforcing Ad Disclosure Obligations in New Media and Issues a Warning to Advertisers

By: Julie O'Neill

Washington State Court Refuses to Unmask Anonymous Online Reviewer

By: Aaron P. Rubin

The Right to Give One-Star Reviews

By: Aaron P. Rubin