Socially Aware

May 21, 2015 - FTC, Privacy
The FTC Weighs in on In-Store Tracking. Or Does It?
By: Julie O'Neill
In law school, everybody learns the adage that hard cases make bad law. When it comes to the Federal Trade Commission, a better aphorism might be, “easy cases make new law.” The FTC’s recent settlement with Nomi Technologies Inc. is, as the FTC’s press
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April 28, 2015 - First Amendment, Privacy, Defamation, Litigation
Court Protects Anonymity of Yelp Users
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Virginia’s highest court recently held that Yelp could not be forced to turn over the identities of anonymous online reviewers that a Virginia carpet-cleaning owner claimed tarnished his business. In the summer of 2012, Joseph Hadeed, owner of Hadeed Carpet Cleaning, sued seven anonymous Yelp
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March 25, 2015 - Internet of Things, FTC, Privacy
The New Frontier in Interest Based Advertising: FTC Shifts Focus to Cross-Device Tracking
By: Julie O'Neill
As consumers increasingly connect to the Internet using multiple devices—such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, TVs and wearable devices—advertising technology companies have rapidly developed capabilities to reach the same consumers across their various devices. Such “cross-device” tracking enables companies to target ads to the
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March 23, 2015 - Online Promotions, Privacy, Employment Law
Five Vital Questions on the Implications of UK Law on Social Media
Chevy Kelly , a partner in the UK-based Social Media Leadership Forum, recently sat down with Socially Aware’s own Sue McLean , a Social Media Leadership Forum member, to discuss the legal implications of UK companies’ use of social media as part of their marketing
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March 12, 2015 - Terms of Use, Privacy
Data for the Taking: Using Website Terms and Conditions to Combat Web Scraping
By: Mercedes Samavi
Is it stealing to take data without permission from a public website, or is it simply making use of resources that are made available to you? “Web scraping” or “screen scraping” is the practice of extracting large amounts of data from public websites using
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February 17, 2015 - FTC, Terms of Use, Privacy, Event
Social Media 2015: Addressing Corporate Risks
Social media is transforming the way companies interact with consumers. Learn how to make the most of these online opportunities while minimizing your company’s risk at Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) 2015 Social Media conference, chaired by Socially Aware editor John Delaney. This year’s program features speakers
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January 15, 2015 - Privacy
Looking Ahead in 2015: Obama Announces Push for Privacy Legislation in Final Term
President Obama provided a preview of his State of the Union address next week which will propose comprehensive data privacy legislation, including a nationwide data-breach notification law, a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and limitations on the use of student data. The announcement comes
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November 19, 2014 - Privacy
Big Data: Big Business, Big Privacy Issues
Big data is now big business. In recent years, due to the exponential growth of databases (spurred at least in part by social media and cloud storage) and of the capability of technology to undertake data analytics on a massive scale, organisations have started
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November 05, 2014 - Privacy
New California Privacy Law Revisions Will Impact Website and Mobile App Operators With Users Under Age 18
By: Julie O'Neill
Last year, California made child-related revisions to its Online Privacy Protection Act that have ramifications even for websites and other online services that are not directed to children. The revision, “Privacy Rights for California Minors in the Digital World,” imposes obligations on any website,
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November 04, 2014 - Privacy, Employment Law, Litigation
What’s in a Like?
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In the pre-Facebook era, the word “like” was primarily a verb (and an interjection sprinkled throughout valley girls’ conversations). Although you could have likes and dislikes in the sense of preferences, you could not give someone a like, claim to own a like or
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