Colorado’s attempt to rein in teen screen time has met a familiar obstacle: the First Amendment. On November 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge William J. Martínez paused the state’s new social media warning law, finding that the...more
11/21/2025
/ Compelled Speech ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employee Rights ,
First Amendment ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Telecommunications
By the end of November, Character.AI will stop letting anyone under 18 chat freely with its bots. No more late-night conversations with virtual friends, no more two-hour therapy sessions with imaginary Freud. The company says...more
11/11/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bots ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Platform Liability ,
Digital Platforms ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Evidence ,
Mental Health ,
Minors ,
New Legislation ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Section 230 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media ,
Texas
A new bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would make it illegal for minors to use “companion” AI chatbots, with criminal penalties for systems that engage children in sexual or self-harm discussions. Dubbed the...more
11/7/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bots ,
California ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Privacy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
New Legislation ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Parental Consent ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Robots ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Telemarketing ,
Texas ,
Text Messages ,
Video Privacy Protection Act ,
Web Tracking
On September 30, Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California ruled that LinkedIn must face three lawsuits alleging that its Insight Tag tracking tool quietly collected sensitive information from users visiting...more
11/4/2025
/ Algorithms ,
CIPA ,
Consent ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
LinkedIn ,
Online Platforms ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 230 ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Social Media ,
Telecommunications ,
Web Tracking ,
Websites ,
YouTube
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made clear that youth-focused social apps are a priority. On September 27, the FTC filed a complaint in the Central District of California against Iconic Hearts Holdings, the company...more
10/15/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Automatic Renewals ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Online Marketplace ,
Parental Consent ,
ROSCA ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In 2025, digital avatars are no longer a novelty—they are fast becoming central to commerce and entertainment. From digital replicas of real individuals to AI-generated personalities, companies are rapidly finding ways to...more
9/23/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deep Fake ,
Digital Media ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Influencers ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Name and Likeness ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right of Publicity ,
Written Consent
YouTube TV is thriving, and its rivals want a piece of the action. Recently, media ratings giant Nielsen confirmed that YouTube is now not only the most-watched streaming service in the United States, but also the...more
7/23/2025
/ Censorship ,
First Amendment ,
Foreign Students ,
Free Speech ,
Mental Health ,
Metaverse ,
Political Campaigns ,
Pornography ,
Social Media ,
Telecommunications ,
Television ,
Texas ,
TikTok ,
Warning Labels ,
YouTube
In a ruling that could reshape how adult content is regulated online, the U.S. Supreme Court has officially age-gated the First Amendment—at least when it comes to minors.
On June 27, 2025, the Court upheld a Texas law...more
7/14/2025
/ First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Free Speech Coalition Inc v Paxton ,
Internet ,
Minors ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Pornography ,
Regulation ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General ,
Texas ,
Websites
This odyssey began when an old laptop was discovered by a curious 14-year-old boy in Kansas. The boy, known only as “QR,” used it to sneak onto a handful of adult websites over two months last year, racking up 118 virtual...more
7/2/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
At-Will Employment ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Cyber Threats ,
Employment Policies ,
Exploitation ,
Facebook ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Free Speech ,
Influencers ,
LGBTQ ,
Metaverse ,
Minors ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Websites
President Donald Trump has signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a new federal law aimed at curbing the spread of non-consensual AI-generated pornography. The law makes it a criminal offense to create or share explicit deepfake images...more
5/23/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consent ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deep Fake ,
First Amendment ,
New Legislation ,
Online Platforms ,
Pornography ,
Privacy Laws ,
Revenge Porn ,
Social Media
CONGRESS MOVES TO BLOCK ALL STATE AI LAWS -
In a late-night addition to a sweeping budget proposal, the House Energy and Commerce Committee inserted a provision in a large reconciliation package that would block state and...more
OHIO SOCIAL MEDIA LAW STRUCK DOWN -
On April 16, 2025, a federal judge in Ohio ended the state’s ambitious plan to severely limit social media access for minors. The court permanently blocked Ohio’s Attorney General from...more
As in-game economies evolve, the complexity surrounding virtual goods and services, content creation, and payment structures deepens. As part of this ongoing series on in-game economies, this installment explores issues...more
4/9/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Copyright ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Media ,
EULA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
In-Game Purchases ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Money Transmitter ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
User-Generated Content
California’s attempt to impose content moderation transparency requirements on social media platforms has suffered a significant setback. Last month, the state reached a settlement with X Corp. (formerly Twitter), effectively...more
If you want the perfect illustration of the high-stakes world of tech acquisition, look no further than the mad scramble for TikTok. Alexis Ohanian, Reddit’s wunderkind co-founder, has joined Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty...more
3/24/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Arbitration ,
California ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
COPPA ,
Data Privacy ,
First Amendment ,
Mergers ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Media ,
TikTok
Effective January 1, 2025, California’s Assembly Bill 2426 (AB 2426) mandates that companies clearly disclose when consumers are obtaining a revocable license to “digital goods” (broadly defined to include digital audiovisual...more
A groundbreaking law in Utah is poised to shake up how minors access apps. Earlier this month, Utah’s state legislature passed S.B. 142 (App Store Accountability Act), which requires major app store providers to verify users’...more
3/13/2025
/ Compliance ,
Consent ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement ,
First Amendment ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Parental Consent ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulation ,
Social Media
Looks like WhatsApp just leveled up—whether it wanted to or not. Meta’s messaging giant has officially been crowned a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which basically...more
Social media safety is very much in the news these days, with policymakers unleashing a torrent of legislation to protect children online, such as age verification measures, parental consent mandates, data privacy...more
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a case that sought to hold Facebook parent company Meta liable for the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal...more
The year 2025 is certain to be a watershed for social media legislation and litigation. As it continues to shape how we connect, share, and consume information, social media remains at the forefront of public discourse due to...more
2/21/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Consent ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Minors ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws
In a rare unanimous decision, on January 17, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law that bans TikTok in the United States on national security grounds so long as it has its current ownership structure. TikTok chose to make the...more
1/23/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Google ,
National Security ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
User-Generated Content ,
YouTube
In Ryan v. X Corp., a Northern District of California court held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunized X (formerly Twitter) against claims arising from suspension of a user’s account, notwithstanding...more
1/22/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Content Publishing ,
Contract Terms ,
Data Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Online Platforms ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
User-Generated Content
Character Technologies has been hit with two lawsuits, including a wrongful death suit (among other claims), in less than two months over its popular Character.ai chatbot. The first was filed in the U.S. District Court for...more
12/13/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bots ,
Breach of Contract ,
Defamation ,
Facebook ,
Fraud ,
Immunity ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Mental Health ,
Metaverse ,
Minors ,
Music Industry ,
Piracy ,
Popular ,
Preemptive Challenges ,
Safe Harbors ,
Terms of Service ,
Terms of Use ,
Uber ,
Web Scraping ,
Willful Infringement
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has sent a challenge to Texas’s controversial online age verification law back to district court for additional clarification, while leaving the lower court’s injunction...more
11/14/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blogging Platforms ,
Canada ,
Domain Names ,
Electronic Devices ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Minors ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Reviews ,
TikTok ,
Verification Requirements