It seems it’s already time for the 2012 end of year lists to start appearing. Here is one from Alex Fitzpatrick on the “7 Landmark Tech Laws Passed in 2012.” It will be interesting to see how some of these spread to other states and countries in the coming months.
Pinterest is one of the hottest new social media sites and has introduced another slew of questions about its legality. Copyright in particular has been a contentious issue with the picture dependent site. Andrew Mirsky provides a thorough look at the legal issues involved, including images of famous people, copyright – fair use – and trademark. In addition his article “Pinterest: Fair Use of Images, Building Communities, Fan Pages, Copyright” also provides some guidelines in going ahead with a Pinterest account.
Here’s a breaking story about Linn, a Norwegian woman, whose Kindle account was recently wiped by Amazon for no apparent reason. At least, to date according to the article, Amazon has not provided a satisfactory answer for their actions. Many are seeing this as an abuse of DRM (digital rights management). Mark King’s article “Amazon Wipes Customer’s Kindle and Deletes Account With No Explanation” provides more information on the incident. However, the information that is forthcoming may indicate that Amazon is attempting to prevent copyright problems due to customers buying books under false pretenses in one country to use in another. The global nature of internet commerce makes navigating the legal issues problematic.
This is a subject that most people don’t want to contemplate, but it’s definitely something you should be thinking about. Who controls your posts on Facebook and Twitter after you die? As of right now, it is the social media site itself. The sites are the ones who set the policy, but a push for new federal regulations may change that. This could be an issue of particular concern when it comes to issues of intellectual property. What about any material that might be copyrighted? It’s not just a matter of personal information that may be stored online; there may also be valuable intellectual property stored there. ScienceDaily’s article “Federal Law Needed to Safeguard ‘Digital Afterlives’, Expert Argues” draws on the article “Facebook’s Afterlife” by Jason Mazzone.
First responders and law enforcement can find valuable and helpful information on social media. Information from social media can be used in conjunction with other sources of information to help gauge a situation before law enforcement or first responders are actually at the site. New tools are also allowing agencies to sift through the mountain of postings to identify social media posts that may indicate a threat to an individual or society at large. As always, the interest from these “agencies” raises questions of free speech and privacy. Dale Peet’s article “Social Media Analytics Can Aid Law Enforcement, First Responders In Civil Unrest, Disasters, Investigations” provides a thorough look at the benefits to such agencies in maintaining an active role in social media.
Law firms can use social media to gain client insight, to maintain competitive analysis, to gauge their own online presence, and to gain insight into trends and changes in practice and industry. Client and competitive information are the focus of larger firms while smaller firms and sole practitioners tend to focus on information about the practice of law. The wealth of information available makes the use of listening platforms particularly helpful for law firms. Mark Hinkle explains how “Listening Platforms Provide Competitive Intelligence for Law Firms.”
Robbie Farrah is the latest celebrity to receive a tweet from a follower that has been widely labeled as abusive. The attack on the Australian sports figure has sparked a call for a review of current social media laws. Britain has already prosecuted a number of social media cases in which abuse has been directed at an individual through social media. Here are two articles from AAP on the Farrah incident:
“Barry O’Farrell Calls for Review of Social Media Laws”
“Twitter ‘Trolls’ Should Be Punished”
As the school year really starts to heat up in law schools across the country, here’s an article that recommends one more subject: embracing social media. Menachem Wecker’s article, “Law Students Should Embrace Social Media, Study Suggests, ” outlines the reasons that law students should be plugged in. Students should be using social media platforms to control their online professional reputation and be prepared to build client relationships through them. Law schools themselves may be slower to embrace these practices.
Ever wonder what makes a social media lawyer different from any other lawyer? “What the Heck Does a Social Media Lawyer Do Anyway?” gives a thorough overview to the major issues that a social media lawyer might be involved in. It’s not surprising that in a fast-paced and ever changing environment like social media, a social media lawyer can expect a great deal of variety to come their way.
Not everyone is obsessed with social media, and in fact, some attorneys may not be interested in it at all. Older attorneys, in particular, may not embrace this new phenomenon, but it is becoming increasingly important in almost every facet of practice from maintaining client relationships to evidence in court. Andrew Lu provides “An Older Attorney’s Guide to Ethical Social Networking” that is useful for attorneys of any age.