In March, Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York ordered service of process on several international defendants through novel means—Facebook. The case, FTC v. PCCare247, Inc., involves a group of individuals based in India who allegedly “tricked American consumers into spending money to fix non-existent problems with their computers.” After problems with… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: social media
The New FTC Dot Com Disclosures – the FTC Updates its Digital Advertising Guidelines for the Twitter and Facebook Age
Posted in UncategorizedAuthored by: Fernando Bohorquez Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission to BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. In what seems like a lifetime ago –and in the fast moving world of the Internet maybe it is – in May 2000 the Federal Trade Commission issued “Dot Com Disclosures: Information about Online Advertising” to provide guidelines on… Continue Reading
NLRB Finds Termination of a BMW Employee Lawful Based Upon a Facebook Posting
Posted in UncategorizedIn Karl Knauz Motors, Inc. d/b/a/ Knauz BMW and Robert Becker, case number 13-CA-046452, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) adopted Administrative Law Judge Joel P. Biblowitz’s findings that BMW salesman, Robert Becker, was lawfully terminated “solely because of his unprotected Facebook postings about an accident at a Land Rover dealership” owned by Becker’s employer. … Continue Reading
NLRB Decision Finds Social Media Provisions Unlawful
Posted in UncategorizedEditor’s Note: This post is a joint submission to BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Mointor blog. Since June 2011, the Acting General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board has issued three reports outlining the position of his office on the applicability of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to employee policies that set rules for permissible social… Continue Reading
Proposed Facebook Settlement Receives Thumbs Down
Posted in UncategorizedFacebook Inc.’s $20 million class settlement offer has been rejected by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg due to concerns over the amount allocated to attorneys’ fees and the proposed “cy pres” payment. The offer was made to settle a lawsuit alleging that the social media magnate improperly used subscriber’s profile pictures in connection with its… Continue Reading
The ACLU and Facebook Weigh in on “Liking” as Protected Speech
Posted in UncategorizedUpdating this previous post, the employees of a Virginia sheriff’s office who were fired allegedly for expressing support for the incumbent’s opponent in Bland v. Roberts have appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. One of the employees “liked” the opponent’s Facebook page, but the district court found that “liking” a Facebook… Continue Reading
A Threat or a Twit? Twitter as Gatekeeper
Posted in UncategorizedThe New York Times reports that Twitter has turned over to the police the account information of an individual who used Twitter to threaten a copycat shooting similar to the recent tragedy in Aurora, Colorado at a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” The individual is believed to have tweeted, “I’m serious, people are going… Continue Reading
Twitter Trolls and Free Speech
Posted in UncategorizedPerhaps inevitably, less than a week into the 2012 London Olympics, Twitter is finding itself at the center of numerous free speech controversies: two athletes, a Greek triple jumper and a Swiss soccer player, have been expelled from the Games because of allegedly racist tweets; athletes are turning to Twitter to complain about the IOC’s… Continue Reading
Savannah Dietrich Seeks Her Own Justice Through Twitter
Posted in UncategorizedFrom Ms. Dietrich’s perspective, her facts were simple. She was sexually assaulted by two boys, who then shared pictures of the assault. The incident caused the 17-year old embarrassment and concern—she cried herself to sleep for months and could not go out in public. She reported the incident to the police, looking for justice against… Continue Reading
Twitter Transparency Report Reveals a Curious U.S. Government
Posted in UncategorizedOn the same day that a New York court decision requiring Twitter to produce user information went public, the company released its first ever Transparency Report. Going forward, this report will be issued on a biannual basis. The report provided a breakdown of requests for user information and content, by country, and compared the number… Continue Reading
Facebook Implements California Consumer Privacy Protections In Rolling Out Its New App Center
Posted in UncategorizedAs part of the strategic rollout of its new App Center, Facebook wrote a letter (the “Letter”) [See the full letter from Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer] to California’s Attorney General Kamala D. Harris (“CA Attorney General”) agreeing to become a signatory to, and implement the privacy protections detailed under, the CA Attorney General’s Joint Statement of… Continue Reading
Facebook Settlement Made Public
Posted in UncategorizedThe details of last month’s $10 million settlement between Facebook, Inc. and five Facebook users were finally made public this weekend after the release of court documents. Facebook will donate $10 million to charity to settle a lawsuit based on alleged violations of California privacy laws. The lawsuit, brought by five Facebook users, alleged that… Continue Reading
Federal Judge Dislikes Facebook as a Method for Service
Posted in UncategorizedA federal judge in the Southern District of New York has denied a request by Chase bank to serve process through a Facebook account. Initially, Chase hired a private investigator who tried in vain to track down Nicole Fortunato’s whereabouts in order to bring her in to a lawsuit as a third-party defendant. When Chase… Continue Reading
Twitter in the Middle: Twitter Challenges Government Subpoena of “Occupy Wall Street” Account
Posted in UncategorizedBack in January 2012, the New York County District Attorney’s office sent Twitter a subpoena seeking e-mail addresses, tweets and other subscriber information of the account @destructuremal. The account belongs to an individual who allegedly participated in the Occupy Wall Street protest march on the Brooklyn Bridge on October 1, 2011. The individual, Malcolm Harris,… Continue Reading
Court Gives Thumbs Down to First Amendment Protection for “Liking” Candidate on Facebook
Posted in UncategorizedIn a decision that runs counter to a large body of Supreme Court precedent on both Internet and non-verbal speech, a Virginia district court has held that “liking” a candidate for public office on Facebook is not entitled to First Amendment protection. The case involves employees of a Virginia sheriff’s office who were less than… Continue Reading