Thompson Coburn LLP Blog » Internet Law Twists & Turns
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This blog will examine those fascinating Internet law twists. For each area, we will describe some business law basics and then give you the Internet law twist. We will also periodically write about other legal issues related to the creation, publication and dissemination of information via the Internet.
Internet Law Twists & Turns
2y ago
In addition to being the world’s greatest communications medium, the Internet is one of the most effective conduits for fraud, illegality, and other mischief. Moreover, perpetrators, and the general public, tend to think that this kind of misconduct is uncatchable.
But Internet mischief may be more catchable than is generally assumed. And the tide of public indifference may have turned; law enforcement and aggrieved persons are becoming more aggressive at asserting their rights.
Consider some of the well-known pieces of Internet mischief (a term I’ll use to encompass criminality, f ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
3y ago
As social media has been “blurring the lines,” the Federal Trade Commission decided to make one thing starkly clear: false endorsements, even through well-meaning consumer testimonials, are illegal.
The FTC sent out a “Notice of Penalty Offenses” to 700 large companies, advertising agencies, and retailers. The notice doesn’t accuse the recipients of specific wrongdoing, but notifies them of the kind of endorsement practices that the FTC considers illegal.
In October 2021 press release announcing the effort, the Commission explained that “the rise of social media has blurred the line between au ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
3y ago
We’re suffering from “information disorder,” according to a report recently issued through the Aspen Institute. That’s not news. But how to solve this problem is the big issue, and the commission’s answer is that it will require substantial legal changes, as well as action by platforms, professionals, and academics.
Legal responses to our disinformation pandemic are controversial. Traditional free speech advocates balk at speech restrictions based on undesirable content, and partisans on both the right and left worry that new laws will inhibit the content they want.
Against this background, th ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
3y ago
<p>When deepfakes emerged on the Internet, people gasped at this new tool for deception and wondered how they could ever separate fake from real videos. After all, anyone who has seen the deepfake videos of Presidents <a href="https://ars.electronica.art/center/en/obama-deep-fake/" target="_blank"><strong>Obama</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-nixon-deepfake-a-moon-disaster-speech-and-an-information-ecosystem-at-risk1/" target="_blank"><strong>Nixon</strong></a> knows that words can no ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently had to decide a sensitive and difficult issue: Can you use a false identity to deceive someone when you are selling something by email? After careful deliberation, the court held that under the federal CAN-SPAM Act, such conduct was both criminal and deceitful.</p> <p>Not a big deal. Deceit has always been unlawful. Of course you can criminalize deceit. But why was the decision so sensitive and difficult? Because it involved modern talismanic concepts: use of anonymity and false identities on the Internet.</p> <p>Many ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>On November 24, 2020, the U.S. government’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and Amazon announced a joint effort to address counterfeit goods entering the U.S. In an effort to protect consumers, the operation will analyze data and conduct targeted inspections aimed at preventing counterfeit products from entering the U.S. supply chain. The IPR Center and Amazon will leverage evidence obtained during the joint operation to expand on-going investigations. This operation will be led by Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, created ear ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>We may be on our own in the world of internet misinformation, but we don’t lack resources. An expert industry is developing about misinformation, how to spot it and how to better understand the strange world of information on the internet.</p> <p>Since we can’t rely on <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-10/muting-misinformation-can-we-sue-to-stop-misleading-political-speech" target="_blank"><strong>lawsuits</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>Political misinformation on the Internet is likely to continue, and our previous posts on <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-10/muting-misinformation-can-we-sue-to-stop-misleading-political-speech" target="_blank"><strong>laws</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-17/muting-misinformation-what-s-the-role-of-social-media-companies" target="_blank"><strong>business practices</strong></a> and <a href ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>Existing U.S. laws don’t prevent misinformation on the Internet, <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-10/muting-misinformation-can-we-sue-to-stop-misleading-political-speech" target="_blank"><strong>as we have seen</strong></a>, nor do social media companies <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-17/muting-misinformation-what-s-the-role-of-social-media-companies" target="_blank"><strong>keep it off their services</strong>&l ..read more
Internet Law Twists & Turns
4y ago
<p>Can we rely on social media companies to vet and clean up their content, so that misinformation doesn’t pollute the 2020 political campaign? Having concluded in a <a href="https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/internet-law-twists-turns/post/2020-08-10/muting-misinformation-can-we-sue-to-stop-misleading-political-speech" target="_blank"><strong>previous post</strong></a> that lawsuits can’t effectively stop Internet misinformation, we turn to social media companies as the next logical guard in the fight against misinformation ..read more