Tag Archives: Social Media

Advancing Digital Strategies (and Hello from the Future!)

Photo of James A. ShererPhoto of Katherine LowryBy James A. Sherer and Katherine Lowry on Posted in Blockchain, Emerging Technology, Internet of Things
The following story is one in a six-part series devoted to the pioneering teams that comprise the firm’s new Digital Asset and Data Management Practice Group. A prime example of BakerHostetler’s preeminence in the legal industry is on display in its latest Practice Group, Digital Asset and Data Management (DADM), which offers holistic, enterprise-wide risk solutions to … Continue Reading

FTC Launches a New Task Force Dedicated to Monitoring the Tech Industry for Anti-Competitive Practices

Photo of Janine Anthony BowenPhoto of Alexandra RoyalBy Janine Anthony Bowen and Alexandra Royal on Posted in Advertising, Marketing
The Federal Trade Commission announced the creation of a new task force that is dedicated to monitoring competition in the U.S. technology industry. This Technology Task Force will coordinate and consult with 17 staff attorneys throughout the FTC who have experience in complex product and service markets, including the markets for online advertising, social networking, … Continue Reading

FTC Takes Action Against Individual Social Media Influencers

Photo of Stephanie LucasBy Stephanie Lucas on Posted in Social Media
Advertisers’ and brands’ use of social media influencers has continued to grow in importance as brands seek to reach new consumers while marketing to a widespread demographic. Traditionally, influencers are known as people who leverage their social media presence to endorse or promote a brand or product for some form of compensation. As influencers have … Continue Reading

FTC Clarifies Native and Online Ad Obligations

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Alan L. Friel and Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Marketing, Retail Industry, Social Media
The FTC, in recent staff statements, has sought to clarify advertisers’ and publishers’ obligations regarding native advertising and social media promotions, particularly regarding when and how to clarify to readers that a message is promotional and that the speaker has a material connection to the brand mentioned in the content. Further, the FTC has announced … Continue Reading

Social Media’s Not For You—It’s About You: Risks for Organizations in a New Age of Sharing

Photo of James A. ShererPhoto of Melinda L. McLellanBy James A. Sherer and Melinda L. McLellan on Posted in Data Breaches, Information Governance, International Privacy Law, Mobile Privacy, Privacy Litigation, Social Media, Workplace Privacy
Social media and social networking, including websites and applications that allow users to create and share content, have become ubiquitous. Joining the social networking revolution may be very easy for individuals, but establishing best practices for organizations that want or need to be actively engaged with social media is not. Initial considerations tend to focus … Continue Reading

Native Advertising, the First Amendment and the FTC

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Marketing
Editor’s Note: This blog post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s IP Intelligence blog. Partner Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Associate Alan Pate today published “All Native Advertising is Not Equal — Why that Matters Under the First Amendment and Why it Should Matter to the FTC” in the Media Law Resource Center’s MLRC Bulletin: Legal … Continue Reading

Legal concepts every social media marketer should know: Part IV – User Generated Content (Content Treasure Trove v. Legal Pandora’s Box)

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Marketing, Online Privacy, Social Media
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 30, 2013, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. This post is co-authored by Alan M. Pate The most valuable resource in a marketing campaign can often be the very audience you are trying to reach. “User generated content,” or UGC, be … Continue Reading

Legal concepts every social media marketer should know: Part III — Use of third-party images, graphics, and content

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Marketing, Privacy Litigation, Social Media
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 11, 2013, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. This post is co-authored by Alan M. Pate. It’s often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But when it comes to running an online marketing campaign or social media site, … Continue Reading

SEC Greenlights Use of Social Media for Publicly Disclosing Company Information

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Social Media
Co-authored by: Jonathan Nowakowski Recognizing the reality that many investors likely get more information from Facebook and Twitter than a corporate 10-K and that most public companies have a robust social media presence, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently weighed in on the use of social media by public companies to disclose material … Continue Reading

The New FTC Dot Com Disclosures – the FTC Updates its Digital Advertising Guidelines for the Twitter and Facebook Age

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Online Privacy
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 the applicability of the FTC’s rules to online activities. Back then, the top of mind issues … Continue Reading

Proposed FFIEC Guidance on Financial Institution Social Media Use

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Financial Privacy, Social Media
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released for comment on January 17 its proposed Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance.  There is a 60-day comment period.  The purpose of the guidance is to help banks, savings associations, credit unions, and non-bank entities supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) understand and address … Continue Reading

Facebook Opens Door to Giving Your Personal Information to an Affiliated Ad Agency

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Gerald J. Ferguson on Posted in Social Media
Give Facebook credit for candor. Facebook does not call the policy describing what it does with your personal information a “privacy policy”, but rather a “Data Use Policy”. The nomenclature is appropriate. The Facebook Data Use Policy is not so much about protecting the privacy of the information you share on Facebook as it is … Continue Reading

OMG! Does Your Doctor’s Facebook Status Violate HIPAA?

Photo of Lynn SessionsBy Lynn Sessions on Posted in Social Media
Co-authored by: Cory Fox Recently, the Federation of State Medical Boards (“the Federation”) released its Model Policy Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice (“Guidelines”). The Guidelines are intended to address how physicians can utilize social media to facilitate patient care while still maintaining the privacy and confidentiality … Continue Reading

The NLRA and Employee Surveillance: Avoiding the Temptations and Pitfalls of Social Media

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Online Privacy, Social Media
Authorship Credit: Ellen J. Shadur The advent of social media and the prevalence of mobile communications devices challenge employers seeking to prevent unlawful conduct in the workplace.  Employees are no longer constrained by the need for physical proximity, or lack of access to a bulletin board, a telephone landline, or a fax machine.  Bullying and … Continue Reading

FBI Issues New Warning on Social Networking Risks

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Online Privacy, Social Media
Businesses Vulnerable to Employees’ Social Networking Activity Authorship Credit: Greg Saikin The FBI has issued a fresh warning to all users of internet-based social networking, informing them that hackers—ranging from con artists to foreign government spies—are looking for every opportunity to exploit the users’ identifying and related personal information.  The FBI reports that these tactics … Continue Reading

You Are What They Tweet: Why Clear Social Media Policies are Becoming More Critical to Employers in This Tech Age

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Gerald J. Ferguson on Posted in Social Media
Authorship Credit: Tarsha Luke The recent termination of a top executive of a publicly traded company is another example of some of the perils of mixing personal and workplace social media. The chief financial officer for a women’s clothing retailer, Francesca’s Holdings, was dismissed for disseminating non-public corporate information to his Twitter followers. After a … Continue Reading

Article: “What Can Management Do to Protect the Organization from Inappropriate Use of Social Media?”

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Social Media
Baker Hostetler Partner Dan Guttman published “What Can Management Do to Protect the Organization from Inappropriate Use of Social Media?” in the winter 2012 issue of OHPELRA Update, the labor and employee relations trade publication covering all Ohio’s public employers. In the article, Mr. Guttman notes that although social media outlets, including Facebook and LinkedIn, provide … Continue Reading

Maryland First to Enact Social Media Ban

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Workplace Privacy
Although it may not be a widespread practice among employers, asking employees or job applicants to provide passwords or access rights to social media accounts (e.g. Facebook or Twitter) has gained national attention and has been widely criticized by advocacy groups and politicians. While members of Congress are evaluating ways to prohibit the practice, Maryland became the … Continue Reading

Lessons Learned from the Second Circuit’s Reinstatement of Copyright Suit Against YouTube

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Gerald J. Ferguson on Posted in Federal Legislation, Privacy Litigation
The Social Media revolution is built on two legal foundations – the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) which generally protects websites that host user generated content from copyright claims, and the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects such websites from claims based on the publication of defamatory or other illegal content. The Second Circuit sent … Continue Reading

Facial Recognition: The End of Privacy or a Precursor for New Laws?

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Federal Legislation, Identity Theft
Do you feel compelled to wear a Richard Nixon mask or a baseball hat equipped with infrared signal emitters on the brim when you leave the house?  If so, you may be trying to prevent a passerby on the street from guessing your name, interests, Social Security number, or credit score using only a pair … Continue Reading

Snack Food Company’s Social Media Marketing Campaign Directed at Teens Draws FTC Complaint

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Enforcement
A consumer institute, Center for Digital Democracy, filed a complaint and request for investigation with the FTC on October 19 related to the marketing of Doritos to adolescents.  The complaint cites a research report, Digital Food Marketing to Children & Adolescents, which identifies digital marketing practices that purportedly pose threats to the health of children.  … Continue Reading
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