Social Media Law Bulletin
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Understanding the legal challenges and implications surrounding social media.
Social Media Law Bulletin
10M ago
On November 27, 2023, a federal trial court in California ruled on a motion to dismiss a complaint involving a website that included videos and social media features. The court found for the defendant and dismissed the class action complaint, which alleged that the site violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The dismissal was without prejudice and gave the plaintiff the right to amend the complaint. Kuzenski v. Uproxx LLC, No. 2:23-cv-00945-WLH-AGR, 2023 WL 8251590 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 27, 2023).
Background
Congress enacted the VPPA in 1988 as a privacy law with ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
On September 28, 2023, a federal trial court in Texas ruled that an advertisement on a restaurant’s social media accounts helped support an award of punitive damages against the restaurant. G&G Closed Circuit Events, LLC v. No Te Levantes Honey, LLC, Civ. No. 4:22-cv-00986-P, 2023 WL 6311521 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 28, 2023).
Facts
The case involved a prize fight in 2019 that was broadcast exclusively on a pay-per-view basis. A Texas restaurant, however, pirated the broadcast to show to its patrons, according to the plaintiff, which had obtained the exclusive rights to sublicense the ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
On August 16, 2023, a federal trial court in Texas ruled on a copyright matter involving a factual video that went viral on social media. At the motion to dismiss stage, the issue the court faced was whether the affirmative defense of fair use applied to a defendant who used the video to promote his business. The court ruled that fair use did not apply, and denied the motion. Viral DRM, LLC v. Frank Kent Country, LLC, Civ. No. 3:23-CV-0250-D (N.D. Tex. Aug. 16, 2023) (2023 WL 5284844).
Background
This matter began when the plaintiff, a company in the business of licensi ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
Privacy concerns continue to cast a shadow over social media companies where third party applications utilize and integrate their applications on their platforms. In the decision of Canada (Privacy Commissioner) v. Facebook, Inc., 2023 FC 533, the Federal Court dismissed the Privacy Commissioner’s claims that Facebook breached the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The Privacy Commissioner claimed that Facebook contravened PIPEDA by sharing its users’ personal information to a third party application, “thisisyourdigitallife” (TYDL App), which hosted and inte ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
On July 14, 2023, a federal trial court in Oklahoma ruled on an electric cooperative’s motions to dismiss various breach of contract, trade secret, deceptive trade practices, and tortious interference claims brought by its former business collaborator, an internet service provider. The court allowed most of the challenged claims to proceed after reviewing the alleged facts, including several involving the parties’ statements on social media. Prof. Value Internet Servs., LLC v. Cent. Rural Elec. Coop., Case No. CIV-21-00765-PRW, 2023 WL 4553617, at *8 (W.D. Okla. July 14, 2023 ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
On May 19, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of defendants in a trademark matter involving unauthorized use of models’ photographs. Souza v Exotic Island Enterprises, Inc., Dkt. No. 21-2149-cv (2d Cir. May 19, 2023) (2023 WL 3556053).
Background
According to the opinion, a “gentlemen’s club” engaged a third party promotions company to create some promotional materials for the club. The promotions company used some photos posted by professional models in order to promote the club using social media posts, for the period 2014 to 2018, without obtaining ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
Common diatribes levied against the market for legal services typically take aim at the hourly fees, the complexity of the justice system, and the exclusivity of bona fide legal advice as a covetous but inaccessible resource. Access to legal services is not a new problem – and is no stranger to legislative reform. For decades, the Ontario legislature has attempted to improve access to justice by enacting statutes like the Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 (SO 2020, c 11, Sched 15) and by amending existing laws, e.g., the Arbitration Act, 1991 (SO 1991 c 17.) and the Courts of Justice Act. (RS ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
On February 8, 2023, a federal trial court in New Jersey ruled that login credentials were a trade secret and also addressed the concept of “misappropriation of confidential information,” in a case where one party was accused of locking the other party out of its own social media pages. CLI Interactive, LLC v. Diamond Phil’s, LLC, Civ. No. . 2:22-cv-01602-JXN-CLW (D.N.J. Feb. 8, 2023) (2023 WL 1818381).
The case began when a jewelry company engaged an advertising company pursuant to a written agreement. Under that agreement, the advertising company agreed to promote the jewelry com ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
The risk of privacy breaches using large data sets of personal information is only increasing with advancements in data processing and artificial intelligence (AI). With any large-scale manipulation of personal data by organizations, there is potential for misuse or disclosure of protected personal information. For instance, AI and machine learning systems necessitate vast quantities of data, including personal information, to train algorithms in support of research and development projects. An emerging set of technologies known as “synthetic data” may present a solution to this problem.
What ..read more
Social Media Law Bulletin
1y ago
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC that followed the Eleventh Circuit ruling in Wildes v. BitConnect (see our March, 2022 post on that case here: Social media and cryptocurrency fraud), when it held that if a person promotes the sale of a security on social media, that person may qualify as a “seller” under Section 12 of the Security Act of 1933 (the “Act”).
  ..read more