Mixed Messages: Courts Grapple With Emoticons and Emoji -
Emoticon and emoji are ubiquitous in online and mobile communications; according to one study, 74 percent of Americans use emoticons, emoji and similar images...more
In response to a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Pub. L. No. 114-74), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the “Commission”) has promulgated a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the new...more
Social media is all about innovation, so it is no surprise that social media marketers are always looking for innovative ways—such as courting social media “influencers” and using native advertising—to promote products and...more
5/5/2016
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Native Advertising ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Social Media
Welcome to the newest issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award winning guide to the law and business of social media. In this edition, we offer tips for a successful—and legal—advertising campaign; we examine a New York...more
3/9/2016
/ Advertising ,
B2C ,
Big Data ,
Digital Goods ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Rule ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Apps ,
Native Advertising ,
Social Media ,
Terms and Conditions ,
User-Generated Content
Why another law firm newsletter? Over ten years ago, Will Stern answered that question in the first Editor’s Note of the first Financial Services Report. Some things have changed since then—we no longer print and mail paper...more
3/9/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Customer Lists ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
HMDA ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Payday Loans ,
Preemption ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TCPA ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
One of the defining aspects of the payments revolution of the past few years—at least from a regulatory perspective—has been the question of whether any particular payments service is subject to regulation as money...more
Three Steps To Help Ensure The Enforceability Of Your Website’s Terms Of Use -
Operators of social media platforms and other websites typically manage their risks by imposing terms of use or terms of service for the...more
1/29/2016
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforceability ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Harassment ,
Instagram ,
Microsoft ,
Online Contracts ,
Reddit ,
Search Warrant ,
Section 5 ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
Terms of Use ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
Vlog ,
Websites ,
Young Lawyers
“Native advertising”—ads that may blur the distinction between advertising and editorial, video or other content—has been a hot topic in recent years for both marketers and regulators. It is popular with marketers because it...more
BELTWAY -
Finally Faster than Amazon Prime -
The Federal Reserve Board recently announced that banks and other financial institutions that use its payments system will have to be able to process same-day...more
12/8/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Automotive Loans ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Crowdfunding ,
Cybersecurity ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
HMDA ,
Preemption ,
Redlining ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
UDAAP ,
Virtual Currency
Cross-device tracking is a hot new issue for regulators. Companies engaged in the practice should take note of two recent developments. On November 16, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a workshop on the issue...more
BELTWAY -
Straight Out of the Seventh Circuit The Seventh Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the SEC cannot be sued in district court to stop it from bringing an administrative action. Bebo v. SEC, No....more
9/18/2015
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Arbitration ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Class Action ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collectors ,
Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
eClosing Pilot Program ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDCPA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
GAO ,
HUD ,
Information Sharing ,
Military Lending Act ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Mortgages ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
NYDFS ,
Online Privacy Protection Act ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
Texas Dept of Housing v Inclusive Communities ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
UDAAP ,
Volcker Rule
Welcome to the newest issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award winning guide to the law and business of social media. In this edition, we present a “grand unifying theory” of today’s leading technologies and the legal...more
7/29/2015
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Creditors ,
Data Collection ,
Data Storage Providers ,
Digital Assets ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Evidence ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hashtags ,
HBO ,
Live Streaming ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Retail Tracking ,
Sanctions ,
Showtime ,
Social Media ,
Spoliation ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter ,
Yelp
As more users spend more time on their mobile devices, advertising dollars are following. And the compliance regime that governs interest-based advertising (IBA) (formerly referred to as online behavioral advertising or OBA)...more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which generally prohibits certain calls to cell phones made with an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS), has created considerable compliance challenges for businesses, and...more
In law school, everybody learns the adage that hard cases make bad law. When it comes to the Federal Trade Commission, a better aphorism might be, “easy cases make new law.” The FTC’s recent settlement with Nomi Technologies...more
In law school, everybody learns the adage that hard cases make bad law. When it comes to the Federal Trade Commission, a better aphorism might be, “easy cases make new law.” The FTC’s recent settlement with Nomi Technologies...more
Federal efforts to formulate a series of rules governing the commercial use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), took another step forward on March 5, 2015, when the National Telecommunications and Information...more
In This Issue:
- Good Rep: Social Media Assets in M&A Transactions
- Narrow Vision: Did Anti-Glass Hysteria Contribute to the Demise of Google Glass?
- Forced to Cyber-Spy: Court Rules Parents Can Be Held...more
2/6/2015
/ Business Assets ,
Cloud Computing ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Google Glass ,
Intangible Property ,
Minors ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks
As we await Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) proposed rules regarding the operation of drones that weigh less than 55 pounds, other parts of the federal government appear poised to scrutinize the privacy issues...more
1/26/2015
/ Airspace ,
Barack Obama ,
Commercial Use ,
Data Collection ,
Drones ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has once again made good on its promise to enforce against deceptive advertising under Section 5 of the FTC Act, regardless of the media in which the advertising appears: its recently...more
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to the CFPB’s June 2014 request for information...more
On July 24, 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Bernd Kowalewski, the former president and chief executive officer of BizJet International Sales and Support Inc. (“BizJet”), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to...more
In This Issue:
- European Court of Justice Strengthens the Right to Be Forgotten
- California AG Offers Best Practices for Do Not Track Disclosures; Crucial Compliance Questions Left Unanswered
- Snap...more
7/11/2014
/ Data Protection ,
Do Not Track ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Policy ,
Right to Be Forgotten ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media
In This Issue:
- Jerked Around? Did the FTC’s “Jerk.com” Complaint Just Turn API Terms Into Federal Law?
- Which Way Is Aereo Pointing? The Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Public Performance Copyright Case
- The...more
5/22/2014
/ Aereo ,
APIs ,
Copyright ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet ,
Internet of Things ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Investment Adviser ,
Jerk ,
Public Performance Rights ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
VPPA
Snapchat’s recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) generally provides a comprehensive but not groundbreaking roadmap to the FTC’s privacy and data security expectations in the mobile environment under...more