Tag Archives: social media

Pennsylvania Superior Court holds county where reputational harm occurs is proper venue for Internet defamation suits, confirming 50-year-old inquiry applies to website-based claims

By Brian J. Willett on Posted in In the Courts
Addressing an issue of first impression, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled last week that a venue analysis dating to 1967 focusing on the location of dissemination of allegedly defamatory newspapers applied to online defamation suits as well.  As a result, the proper venue for Pennsylvania defamation suits based on website content is any county where … Continue Reading

Transparency requirements for influencers in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States

By John P. Feldman, Nick Breen, Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus and Ramona Kimmich on Posted in Data & Cyber Security, Privacy & Data Protection
They are the stars of the young generation, brand ambassadors for organizations and leaders on social media: influencers. With their strong presence on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, influencers have a power that pays off. Thousands of users follow the day-to-day posts of their role models. Influencers are becoming increasingly important … Continue Reading

Singapore data protection commission issues warning for “heat of the moment” disclosure of personal data

By Charmian Aw on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
On November 28, 2018, Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (commission) issued its grounds of decision against Big Bubble Centre (respondent), a sole-proprietorship in the scuba-diving business. The facts of the case were as follows: The complainant was an individual who had worked for the respondent and claimed that he was not paid wages for such … Continue Reading

German State Media Authorities issue new guidance paper on marking adverts on social media

By Dr. Philipp Süss, Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus and Ramona Kimmich on Posted in Cookies, Tracking & Online Behavioral Advertising, Regulatory, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
Recently, the German media regulators, the State Media Authorities (Landesmedienanstalten), issued a joint guidance paper on marking adverts on social media, which is available in German language here (Leitfaden der Medienanstalten, Werbekennzeichnung bei Social Media-Angeboten; “Guidance Paper”). The Guidance Paper replaces the State Media Authorities’ earlier FAQs. It is intended to help organisations and individuals … Continue Reading

The digital beyond: Facebook ordered to disclose circumstances around deleted profile

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Alexander Mackay on Posted in In the Courts
In the recent case of Sabados v Facebook Ireland [2018], the English High Court ordered Facebook to disclose the identity of a mystery individual who requested that the platform delete the profile of a deceased user of the platform. Around six months after the death of Mr Mirza Krupalija, Facebook received a request from an … Continue Reading

Munich Court of Appeal prohibits Facebook from deleting a post that does not fall under the German Hate Speech Act

By Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus, Sven Schonhofen and Dr. Philipp Süss on Posted in In the Courts
On 24 August 2018, the Munich Court of Appeal (“Court”) issued a preliminary injunction against Facebook that prohibits Facebook from deleting a certain user’s post (docket no. 18 W 1294/18, available in German here). Facts of the case The claimant is a Facebook user who had taken part in a discussion on the Facebook page of … Continue Reading

European Commission calls for enhanced responsibility of online platforms for illegal content

By Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus, Dr. Philipp Süss and Sven Schonhofen on Posted in Regulatory, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
Addressing the detection of and removal of illegal content from online platforms represents an urgent challenge for the digital society today. However, so far, there is no harmonised and coherent approach across the European Union. On 28 September 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) published a communication titled „Tackling Illegal Content Online – Towards an enhanced … Continue Reading

Article 29 Working Party releases detailed opinion on data processing in the workplace

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Chantelle Taylor on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The Article 29 Working Party (“WP29”) recently published an opinion on data processing at work (“Opinion”). The Opinion restates the position and conclusions in WP29’s 2001 Opinion on processing personal data in the employment context (WP48), and its 2002 WP55 Working Document on the surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace. However, it addresses the … Continue Reading

German Parliament to adopt WiFi Act and Hate Speech Act this week

By Sven Schonhofen, Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus and Dr. Thomas Fischl on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
In two last-minute decisions, the German Parliament (Bundestag) will likely adopt the WiFi Act (Entwurf eines Drittes Gesetz zur Änderung des Telemediengesetzes) and the Hate Speech Act (Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Verbesserung der Rechtsdurchsetzung in sozialen Netzwerken) in the last session of the current legislative term. The parliament will vote on both bills on 30 … Continue Reading

Weak Social Media Presence Sinks Trademark Claims, Says Sixth Circuit

By Brian J. Willett on Posted in In the Courts, Intellectual Property
A DJ asserting trademark infringement and dilution claims against a similarly named rapper failed partly due to a lack of apparent popularity on social media, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on December 13. In Kibler v. Hall, et al., No. 15-2516 (6th Cir. Dec. 13, 2016), the appellate court affirmed … Continue Reading

Even in Social Media Age, Web Presence Without Specific Showing of Customer Interaction is Not Enough for Personal Jurisdiction

By Brian J. Willett on Posted in In the Courts
Ask any 1L – personal jurisdiction has always been a tricky issue. But in the internet era, even courts have grappled with how to determine whether an online presence is sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction over a party.   Recently, the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that an internet presence consisting of a website as well … Continue Reading

YouTube Rulings Emphasize the Importance of an OSP’s Terms of Service in Social Media Marketing

By Dominique Pietz and Barrett Hammond on Posted in In the Courts
Two recent cases serve as a reminder of the key role an online service provider’s (OSP) terms of service play in social media marketing. The courts in Darnaa, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2015 WL 7753406 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2015) and Lewis v. YouTube, LLC, 2015 BL 428281 (Cal. App. 6th Dist. Dec. 28, 2015), … Continue Reading

Finland Introduces New Information Society Code

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Katalina Bateman on Posted in Data & Cyber Security, Information Governance
The Information Society Code (2014/917) (Code) – a new act in Finland on electronic communications, privacy, data security, communications, and the information society in general – took effect 1 January. This sees a consolidation of 10 existing acts into one, which had included Finland’s Communications Market Act; Act on the Protection of Privacy in Electronic … Continue Reading

FTC Settlement with Snapchat – What Happens on Snapchat Stays on Snapchat?

By Christine Nielsen Czuprynski on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
Last Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that messaging app Snapchat agreed to settle charges that it deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of messages sent through the app. The FTC case also alleged that the company deceived consumers over the amount of personal data the app collected, and the security measures … Continue Reading

Court Ruling Reinforces The ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ On Social Media Sites

By Christine Nielsen Czuprynski on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue. The "right to be forgotten" is a hot topic of discussion in the context of imminent EU Data Protection Reform. Article 17 of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation will give data subjects the “right of erasure” to request that data controllers delete any personal data relating … Continue Reading

U.S. Court Permits Service by Facebook Message Against UK Defendant

By Christine Nielsen Czuprynski on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue. A U.S. District court ruled that a UK defendant may be served via Facebook. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Woodward v. Chetvertakov, E.D. Mich., No. 2:13-cv-11943-GER-MKM, ruled it permissible to serve a foreign defendant website operator based in the UK via email … Continue Reading

You’ve Been Served… Through Facebook?

By Lisa B. Kim on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was also written by Keri S. Bruce. Courts and legislators alike have begun to give a person’s social media presence a new kind of legitimacy. We are seeing an upward trend towards allowing service of process in a lawsuit through communications on social media websites, like Facebook, where there is some reliability that … Continue Reading

FFIEC Proposes Social Media Risk Management Guidelines

By John P. Feldman on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was also written by Timothy J. Nagle and Frederick Lah. Earlier this week, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) released its proposed guidance requesting comment on the applicability of consumer protection laws to the social media activities of financial institutions. The guidance addresses the potential risks associated with the use of social media … Continue Reading

Maryland Prohibits Employers from Requesting Employee or Applicant Social Media Log-In Information – Illinois and Other States to Follow?

By Christine Nielsen Czuprynski on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was written by Frederick Lah. Earlier this year, Maryland enacted the nation’s first law explicitly prohibiting employers from requesting or requiring employees or applicants to disclose their usernames and passwords for their personal social media accounts. Many other states are contemplating similar laws, with Illinois’ version likely to become law within the next … Continue Reading

Is the New Facebook Settlement About Privacy? Or, Revenge of the Prosser Torts.

By Mark S. Melodia and Paul Bond on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
This post was also written by Frederick Lah. Recently, Facebook announced a proposed settlement of a national class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Fraley, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., 5:11-cv-01726. This settlement has been described by some as settlement of a “privacy lawsuit.” See, e.g., “Facebook to Settle Privacy … Continue Reading

German Court ‘Un-Friends’ Facebook: Ruling on Friend Finder, User’s IP Rights and Data Use Policy

By Katharina A. Weimer and Dr. Thomas Fischl on Posted in Intellectual Property, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
On March 6, 2012, the Regional Court of Berlin issued a ruling on a case initiated by the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations, against Facebook Ireland Limited. The court took this rare opportunity to object to several key features of Facebook’s user experience and actions: The court criticized that users are not … Continue Reading
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