Social Media Law Predictions For 2012

Having foresight and advising clients on how to successfully navigate potential legal risks is what lawyers are paid to do. On January 10, 2011, I made 10 social media law predictions for the year and nine of them have come true; the tenth one appears that it will be realized within the next couple of months. In no particular order, below are some of my social media law predictions for 2012:

1) Social Media account ownership issues will increase.

2) State Legislatures and/or the courts in the United States will address whether employees may be required to turn over their social media user names and passwords and/or install social media monitoring software onto their personal electronic devices so employers may access their employees' private electronic content.

3) State Legislatures and/or the courts in the United States will address whether students and/or college applicants may be required to turn over their social media user names and passwords and/or install social media monitoring software onto their personal electronic devices in order to attend or play inter-collegiate sports.

4) In the United States lawmakers will work to pass bipartisan intellectual property legislation to address social media copyright and trademark issues.

5) Rakofsky v. the Internet will be decided in favor of the Internet.

6) The United States' Federal Trade Commission and the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority will crack down on fraud and misleading social media advertising.

7) Governments around the world will continue to grapple with how to control social media flash mobs, anti-government content, Internet controls, etc...

8) Governing bodies and courts around the world will continue to address social media privacy issues.

9) Social Media usage by political candidates and political causes will greatly increase during the 2012 election cycle and this will lead to increased discussion on updating election compliance laws in the United States and around the world.

10) Lawyers will realize that some of their social media marketing consultants are violating the FTC advertising regulations.

To learn more about these issues you may contact me at www.shearlaw.com.

Copyright 2012 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.

The New York Times May Be the Most Trusted News Source in the Social Media Age

The New York Times has been around since 1851 and is regarded as the newspaper of record for the United States. Its reputation is second to none. In the Social Media Age the Gray Lady is still a premier destination for news.

This past week has proven that real world reputation still trumps Facebook Likes, LinkedIn shares, Tweets, etc... If The New York Times reports on something it matters and the world takes notice. For example, on December 25, 2011, the paper reported on a lawsuit that may provide some guidance regarding who owns a Twitter account and what is the value of Twitter follower. Within 24 hours after the article was published the story went viral and news organizations around the world reported on this matter. I appeared on Canada's CTV News Channel last night to discuss the case.

While some may argue that because of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc... the story went viral, I disagree. The story went viral because the New York Times reported on it. The proof may be that it was reported online by a major business publication on November 14, 2011 and again on November 17, 2011. The articles were viewed cumulatively approximately 10,000 times online and shared approximately 1000 times via social media. Despite widespread viewing and social media sharing, this story did not go viral until it was covered by the The New York Times.

Reputation is not something that Klout, PeerIndex, etc....are able to accurately measure. Those who believe these companies can measure reputation remind me of the Emperor in the Hans Christian Anderson tale: The Emperor's New Clothes. The bottom line is that reputation is everything and not easily quantifiable.

To learn more about these issues you may contact me at www.shearlaw.com.

Copyright 2011 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.

Telephone Flash Mobs, Celebrities, the Police, and Social Media

Is a telephone flash mob criminal? How do you prove that a series of Tweets directly caused a telephone flash mob? The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is trying to answer these questions after an artist who goes by the stage name, "The Game" allegedly tweeted the phone number of a sheriff's station on August 12th. It is alleged that The Game's tweets were directly responsible for a sheriff's station receiving hundreds of calls that tied up its phone lines for a few hours.

According to Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, The Game may be charged with "making annoying or harassing phone calls via [an] electronic device or the Internet,"delaying or obstructing peace officers in the performance of their duties," and "knowingly and maliciously disrupting or impeding communications over a public safety radio frequency".

The Game alleged in at least one of his Tweets that his account was hacked. If The Game's allegations are true he should file a complaint with the police because hacking is a violation under federal and state law.

Charging The Game for violating the law based on his alleged Tweets is one thing but proving it is another. A prosecutor may have to prove that The Game had the mens rea to jam the Sheriff Department's communications system. This may be extremely difficult unless there is a smoking gun that indicates that The Game intended to disrupt the sheriff department's phone lines.

I highly doubt that The Game will be successfully prosecuted for his alleged ill conceived tweets. However, this episode may encourage California and other states to create guidelines on how to respond to these situations in the future.

To learn more about these issues you may contact me at www.shearlaw.com.

Copyright 2011 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.