Facebook User To Be Fined Under Spanish Social Media Gag Law For Police Comments

Social Media in its infancy was hailed as a great equalizer for everyone's voice to be heard. Years ago, at conference after conference, I heard so called "futurists" and other "prognosticators" proclaim social media as the best invention since air conditioning or the microwave.

So many social media "evangelists" (a fancy term for some consultants who are full of s*#t) shouted from the roof tops how digital platforms would make the world a safer and freer place to exchange ideas and increase the freedom of speech.  Unfortunately, many of these "evangelists" don't understand how some governments and private companies are using social media to digitally follow and keep tabs on what people are doing.  Some of these new activities are actually a huge threat to democracy and our personal freedoms.  

Earlier this year, the government in Spain enacted its "Citizen Security Law" which appears to restrict what its citizens may say online about some government officials.  On July 22nd, the law was apparently utilized when local police in Spain accused one of its citizens of "making comments on social media that showed a lack of respect and consideration for Gumar's (a town in Spain) local police.  The accused may be fined hundreds of Euros and has hired a lawyer to fight the charges.  

Spain isn't the first country to enact and/or enforce laws specifically designed to stop its citizens from criticizing its government online and it will not be the last country to do so.  Therefore, it is imperative to be vigilant about digital freedom of speech and privacy.  You don't know how important these rights are until you lose them.  

Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Hulk Hogan Tries To Pre-Empt the Wrath of Social Media Via An Apology

Reacting appropriately during a crisis in the Social Media Age is extremely important.  In fact, its a must for corporate executives, small and large companies/organizations, politicians, celebrities, professional athletes, amateur athletes, etc...  Its imperative to understand the importance of properly reacting to a situation that has not just public relations implications but also major legal ramifications as well.

In the Social Media Age, the right reaction may determine whether your brand is permanently damaged like Paula Deen's or Anthony Weiner's or if you can  make a comeback like Charlie Sheen (a little contrition mixed in with talent, luck, and a "wining attitude").  Americans have always loved great comebacks.  The biggest in recent memory (the last 20 years) was Bill Clinton's come back from impeachment proceedings. 

The latest high profile person to incur a major negative personal/professional event (actually multiple matters) is former pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan.  The National Enquirer recently published a private racist rant Hogan made years ago.  The leaking of this information to the media may be connected to a $100 million dollar lawsuit Hogan commenced against the digital platform Gawker for publicizing a private sex tape that he may have unknowingly participated in.   

It appears that right before Hogan's behavior became public knowledge the WWE (Hogan's employer) scrubbed him from their website and cut ties with him. Within hours of the world learning about his racist rant, Hogan issued to People Magazine a full apology and took full responsibility for his actions.

Will Social Media, the WWE, his fans, etc... forgive Hogan for his behavior?  As long as Hogan's team doesn't follow the missteps of of others, he has an opportunity for redemption.  A good first step was a quick apology.  Will Hogan's next step on his road to redemption be an appearance on The Today Show or other media outlets?

Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

NY Court: Facebook has no standing to challenge search warrants

Earlier this week, a New York state appeals court ruled that Facebook had no legal standing to challenge search warrants on behalf of its customers.  The court stated that only the defendant may challenge the search warrant and not Facebook.

The court's unanimous opinion stated that, “[f]here is no constitutional or statutory right to challenge an allegedly defective warrant before it is executed.”  This ruling was not surprising because the law usually takes years to catch up to the technology.  Will other courts around the country follow this ruling?

As more of these types of cases (and similar ones) pop up, it will be interesting to see how the law addresses new technologies.  There is no one size fits all in determining public policy and I hope there is a robust conversation on these important issues.

Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Google Forced to Change Its Privacy Policy in the Netherlands

According to Telecompaper, Google has changed its privacy policy in the Netherlands to comply with its data protection laws.  The Dutch privacy regulator (the "CBP") determined last year that Google combines and uses the personal data of internet users without first obtaining permission according to its laws.  Google acquires personal information about its users when they are logged into Google and from other data sources, such as Internet searches, location data, videos, and emails.

While this is a welcome development, why did the CBP have to threaten Google with a multi-million dollar fine before it agreed to change its privacy policy?  Will Google soon change its U.S. privacy policy to actually protect the personal privacy of its users?  Since Google led the charge to gut Maryland's student privacy law earlier this year, I doubt it will do so.

The bottom line is that the U.S. FTC and state attorney generals should follow the E.U.'s lead when it comes to protecting our digital privacy.  The more data that companies such as Google, Facebook, data brokers, etc... are allowed to collect and utilize the less safe we become since privacy and security are bedrocks of a democratic society.

Troubling practices and antiquated thoughts about data privacy continue to be a national security threat.  My hope is that our regulators and elected leaders will soon take the appropriate actions necessary to enforce and update our data privacy laws to better protect us and our children.

Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.