An advertising executive who lost his job after being named on an anonymous Instagram account is suing the now-defunct account for defamation. The suit names as defendants not only the account—Diet Madison Avenue, which was...more
Finding that President Trump’s Twitter feed constitutes a public forum, a federal judge in New York City held that it’s a First Amendment violation when the President or one of his assistants blocks a Twitter user from...more
In 2016, brands spent $570 million on social influencer endorsements on Instagram alone. This recode article takes a looks at how much influencers with certain followings can command, and whether they’re worth the investment....more
9/25/2017
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Endorsements ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Google ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Instagram ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media
Instagram is now allowing a limited number of users to identify branded content with a “paid partnership” subhead instead of using hashtags like #ad and #sponsored to identify sponsored posts. The platform says it plans to...more
A New York State senator has introduced a bill that would make posting footage of a crime to social media with the intention of glorifying violence or becoming famous punishable by up to four years in prison and fines....more
A court ruled that a particular 98-character tweet wasn’t sufficiently creative to warrant protection under German copyright law.
Inspired by a recording posted to Snapchat of a physical attack on a 14-year-old boy, a...more
A federal district court judge refused to grant summary judgment to the copyright owners of the Star Trek franchise in the infringement suit they brought against the team behind a fan-made, crowdfunded prequel to the original...more
1/23/2017
/ Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
EU ,
Instagram ,
Internet ,
Mobile Apps ,
Personal Data ,
Snapchat ,
Sponsored Ads ,
Star Trek ,
Summary Judgment ,
Yelp
Instagram now allows users to hide offensive comments posted to their feeds. Take that trolls!
Soon you’ll be able to watch Twitter content like NFL Thursday Night Football on a Twitter app on Apple TV, Xbox One and...more
9/21/2016
/ Ad-Blockers ,
Ballots ,
EU ,
Google ,
Instagram ,
Internet Streaming ,
Selfies ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
YouTube
Instagram now allows users to zoom in on photos in their feeds and at least 11 brands are already capitalizing on the new feature.
Pinterest acquired Instapaper, a tool that allows you to cache webpages for reading at a...more
9/6/2016
/ Advertising ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Journalism ,
Mobile Apps ,
Photographs ,
Pinterest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media
Google is cracking down on mobile pop-up ads by knocking down the search-result position of websites that use them.
The National Labor Relations Board decided a social media policy that Chipotle had in place for its...more
8/29/2016
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Google ,
Hate Speech ,
Instagram ,
Jury Selection ,
Kardashians ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Native Advertising ,
NLRB ,
Personal Data ,
Pop-Up Ads ,
Revenge Porn ,
Social Media ,
Truth in Advertising ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
Visa Waiver Program
Instagram now allows celebrities to block trolls. The rest of us will have to continue trying to ignore Instagram trolls.
While Facebook reached new highs last quarter, Twitter continued to stumble. Will adding more live...more
8/1/2016
/ Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Defamation ,
Emoji ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
LinkedIn ,
Pinterest ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Trolls ,
Twitter ,
Yelp
Snapchat has caught on with “oldies” (that’s people 35 and older, FYI).
The Chinese government has forbidden online media from reporting news spread on social media sites.
A 14-year-old and his mom are suing...more
In a fascinating, must-read article, a Google design ethicist explains the techniques that engineers and entrepreneurs employ to keep us hooked on the web.
A majority of U.S. adults—62%—now get their news on social...more
6/3/2016
/ Barack Obama ,
Email ,
Emoji ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Hate Speech ,
Instagram ,
Prison ,
Russia ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Websites
The Newspaper Association of America has filed a first-of-its-kind complaint with the FTC over certain ad blocking technologies.
Is it “Internet” or “internet”? The Associated Press is about to change the capitalization...more
The Great Instagram Logo Freakout of 2016.
A UK council policy reportedly grants its members power to spy on residents by setting up fake Facebook profiles....more
A lawsuit alleges this Snapchat feature is making driving even more dangerous, and it’s not texting or instant messaging.
This state is considering imposing hefty fines on jurors who post information to social media...more
Driven to distraction. A frightening number of people are interacting with social media when they should be watching the road. As part of a public service campaign to stop distracted driving, the phone company AT&T recently...more
7/10/2015
/ AT&T ,
Distracted Driving ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
Macy's ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Pinterest ,
Public Safety ,
Smartphones ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Texting ,
Twitter
Out with the inbox? The overwhelming popularity of workplace-specific platforms that facilitate coworker communication—commonly referred to as “enterprise social media”—is undeniable. But are these platforms poised to someday...more
A Craigslist conviction. The highest court in Massachusetts upheld the conviction under the Bay State’s anti-harassment statute of a couple who posted fake Craigslist advertisements that caused a great deal of trouble for...more
1/16/2015
/ Advertising ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Craigslist ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Facebook ,
False Advertising ,
Harassment ,
Instagram ,
LinkedIn ,
Selfies ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Twitter
Fake-out stakeout. For several months now, we’ve been covering the increasingly prevalent use of social media by law enforcement agencies conducting criminal investigations. In one such instance, the FBI sent a link to a...more
1/8/2015
/ DEA ,
Driverless Cars ,
Facebook ,
FBI ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Google ,
Google Glass ,
Instagram ,
Law Enforcement ,
MySpace ,
Revenge Porn ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks
That’s a lot of latte. It turns out that Starbucks—not a company in the mobile payments business—was the first company to make in-person payments by mobile phone mainstream. According to recent statements by the coffee...more
..Facebook’s deputy general counsel describes the company’s pushback since last summer against sweeping search warrants issued by a court in New York for private data from no fewer than 381 Facebook users. The company regards...more