If you use social media for advertising, there are some legal issues that you should be aware of. Some users of social media like Pinterest may not realize that their posts could be construed as advertising. These users can also benefit from this quick primer of do’s and don’ts from Jennifer L Gregor: “Prevent Advertising Legal Errors in Social Media.”
A recent case concerned the use of an engagement photo. Public Advocate defended its unauthorized use of the photo as parody. The owner of the photo responded through a common law right of publicity claim. Marie-Andree Weiss’ article “When Your Engagement Photo Becomes a Political Ad: Parody and Right of Publicity” looks at the issues in depth.
Even law school libraries are utilizing social media to connect with their patrons. Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law devotes a page of their website to their social media offerings, which include a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and somewhat surprisingly, YouTube. Follow the link to learn more.
With more and more businesses and individuals turning to the cloud for data storage, it is more important than ever to insure that that data is secure. Peter Cochrane’s article, “Cloud Security: Why the Future’s Bright – But Not If You’re On the Dark Side”, offers some tips to increase your security.
Here is yet another story about how important social media is becoming in day-to-day law enforcement. Police are using social media to help build community with the public in addition to catching criminals. The Warner Robins, Georgia, Police Department recently found out what a powerful tool social media could be. Read Ashley Minelli’s story “Law Enforcement Using Social Media to Connect with Community” to learn more.
A recent story in Time by Didi Tang with contributions from Gillian Wong, “U.S. Consulate’s Account Disappears from Chinese Social Media Site”, reveals that an American Consulate’s microblog from Beijing has suddenly disappeared fom the Internet due to mysterious “technical problems”. This appears to be a common problem with blogs that post on topics that are considered taboo. American should not expect to enjoy the same rights they experience at home even while on social media.
Indian Interior Advisor Rehman Malik says social media must be regulated. Read more here.
Both public and private schools in Delaware are now subject to a law which prohibits them from requiring students to surrender their social media passwords. California and Maryland are debating similar legislation to protect student privacy. Neha Prakash discusses the issues in “Delaware Law to Give Students Increased Online Privacy.”
According to Twitter’s terms of service, users own their tweets, but Judge Matthew Sciarrino has issued a subpoena requiring Twitter to release tweets in relation to the Occupy movement in New York. In his decision, Judge Sciarrino states that users have no reasonable expectation of privacy once they post. Twitter, however, maintains that the issue really centers around ownership of the tweets and that rests firmly with users: the tweets simply aren’t Twitter’s to turn over. Read the full story here.
Ever wonder what your clients are thinking or saying about a particular issue? Social media makes it easy to find out as proven by the number of tweets, posts, blogs, etc that were devoted to Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act. Naturally, it’s helpful to know how your clients feel about certain issues, but it’s also good to know how they are expressing themselves. Deanne Katz’s article, “Everyone Has a Social Media Opinion on the Health Care Ruling, ” examines some of those comments.