By Jason Gerken on The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit continues to decide high profile cases that interpret the key provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). This post summarizes two July decisions from the court—one that sent the internet into a frenzy, and one that somewhat assuaged those fears. Overview of the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on If I look you in the eye and tell you with a flick of my wrist I will slit your throat, you will likely call the police and have me arrested. If I threaten to kill my co-workers, or plant a bomb in a kindergarten class, or shoot my spouse, I will lose my job, … Continue Reading
By Donna Ruscitti on Our colleagues at the Employer Law Report blog report that Gawker Media LLC has asked a district court to limit plaintiff’s use of social media for providing notice of a class action lawsuit to potential class members. With concerns about maintaining objectivity and the possibility that plaintiff’s complaints could go viral, the case presents a … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As we discussed previously, the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides apply not only to bloggers who receive promotional merchandise, but also to contest promotions and corporate social media advertising. A recent FTC action confirms that advertising agency staffers cannot casually tweet nice things about their clients without disclosing their relationship. The FTC finalized a consent … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The holiday season is upon us and by the end of the year, Americans will have spent approximately $600 billion shopping in stores and online. By now, most consumers are aware of a broad range of risks associated with the holidays. We try not to leave packages in our cars in the mall parking lot, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On July 7-11, 2014, a group of 25 privacy lawyers met in a historic building overlooking the Keizersgracht, one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful canals, and spent five days learning about U.S. privacy law, European data protection law, and the complex interactions between them. The setting was the Summer Course on Privacy Law and Policy, presented … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Have you ever received an email from LinkedIn with the invitation: “I’d like to add you to my professional network.”? If you did not respond, did you receive a reminder email a week later? And another one a few weeks after that? If you did, or if you were one of the LinkedIn users who … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Advertising Practices has recently finalized its investigation into Cole Haan’s “Wandering Shoe” contest wherein contestants could enter the contest by creating Pinterest boards titled “Wandering Sole” and including five shoe images from Cole Haan’s Wander Sole Pinterest Board as well as five images of contestants’ “favorite places to wander.” … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A few days after we posted “Facebook’s ‘Look Back’ videos send reminder: Get digital accounts in order before death,” which provided guidance to digital account users on how to make plans for their digital accounts before death, Facebook announced a policy change regarding how it would maintain the profiles of its users who have passed away … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Facebook created a “Look Back” video for each of its users. A father mourning the loss of his recently-deceased son uploaded a video of himself to YouTube pleading with Mark Zukerberg and Facebook to see his son’s video. The father deemed his request a “shot in the dark,” but Facebook … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This past summer, the University of Amsterdam launched a new, week-long Privacy Law and Policy Summer Course related to the Internet, electronic communications, and online and social media. Course faculty included European and U.S. academics, European regulators and the head of the global privacy law practice at an international law firm, among others. Course participants … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Here are my thoughts on key e-discovery cases decided in September, including a decision showing how a company can defensibly delete data that it no longer needs, the recent case “trend” of courts requiring the disclosure of the sources and search terms used to find discoverable ESI, and a couple of cases addressing the issue … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In addition to the posting of the proposed discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for public comment, August was packed with a number of interesting e-discovery decisions. Here are my thoughts on key e-discovery cases decided last month, including another spoliation blockbuster from Judge Shira Scheindlin and rulings on e-discovery costs, search … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on For many years, we have been advising our clients that, in addition to the laws addressing sweepstakes and contest promotions, they must also be aware of the Facebook’s promotion guidelines if they wished to link their sweepstakes promotion to the company Facebook presence. While that remains true, Facebook has now made it much easier for … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A federal court in California has held that subpoenas served on Google and Yahoo! seeking the subscriber and usage information associated with 68 email addresses did not infringe on the subscribers’ First Amendment rights or their right to privacy. Chevron Corp v. Donziger, No. 12-mc-80237 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 22, 2013). The subpoenas also did not … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As long as there has been Facebook, attorneys have been scratching their heads asking whether Facebook posts fall under the purview of the Federal Stored Communications Act (“SCA”). In Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., No. 2:11-cv-03305 (WJM) (D.N.J. Aug 20, 2013) the District Court for the State of New Jersey gave us its opinion … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A federal court has denied a defendant-employer’s request that plaintiffs sift through and turn over all their social media posts made during their work hours in an FLSA collective action in which the plaintiffs claim their employer failed to give them meal breaks. How did that happen? I thought you’d never ask. By way of … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on When we think about the issues that employers have been struggling with relating to employee use of personal mobile devices for work, thoughts of data security, trade secret protection, record retention, and even FLSA compliance immediately come to mind — or at least my mind. But, I bet you wouldn’t anticipate what allegedly happened in Lazette … Continue Reading
By Donna Ruscitti on Our colleagues on the Federal Securities Law Blog have been tracking new and updated SEC regulations that are likely to have an impact on your business now and in the near future. The compilation of articles in their most recent eBook — SEC Updates: Staying Ahead of the Regulatory Curve — discuss three important SEC … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Recently our sister blog The Employer Law Report told you about Vine, a mobile video application owned by Twitter that allows users to capture and share short looping six-second videos on Twitter. The app will no doubt cause corporations more social media headaches as employees start recording Vine workplace videos — especially with 13 million users … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In an ADA employment discrimination case, a federal court recently denied a defendant’s request to compel the plaintiff to provide authorizations for all of her social media accounts, but still ordered the production of any social media postings relevant to the plaintiff’s claimed emotional distress damages. See Giacchetto-v-Patchogue-MedfordUnion, No. CV 11-6323 (E.D.N.Y. May 6, 2013). … Continue Reading
By Donna Ruscitti on On June 19, Porter Wright launches its four-part seminar series covering technology topics at the forefront of today’s businesses. Technology Law Source will continue to cover these topics in future blog posts, including navigating through U.S. and international laws, regulations and standards. The seminar series comprises: Social Media in the Law: Learn It and Use … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Federal Judicial Center recently published the Sixth Edition of the Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges. For the first time, the Benchbook includes a section on civil case management, including how to address e-discovery issues. The Benchbook also adds new jury instructions regarding the use of social media and electronic devices by jurors during … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Describing it as a “rather novel issue,” a federal court recently held that a former employee’s public posts on his personal Facebook page did not constitute solicitation of his former co-workers under the terms of his non-solicitation agreement with his former employer. [See Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. v. Cahill, No. 12-CV-346, Doc. 31 (Jan. 22, … Continue Reading
