Category Archives: Social Media Law

WARNING: Internet Pictures of You Hunting While on Medical Leave from Work Will Kill Your Retaliatory Discharge Claim

TAKEAWAY: If you are claiming you cannot work and are on medical leave, posting pictures on the Internet of you hunting during that same time will not help your case when (yes, i said WHEN) you get fired and make a claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act for retaliatory discharge. They will kill …

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Proposal to Allow “Substitute Service” of Legal Documents through Social Media – What Do You Think?

I need your help — I intend to write a more thorough analysis of this issue and would appreciate your help so please tell me what you think. (see below for specific questions) A new bill proposed in Texas would allow people to be served legal documents through social media as a form of “substituted …

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Court: Yelp Reviews Are Not Hearsay But Are Then Existing Mental State of the Declarant

Defendants in the case argued that the reviews were hearsay and therefore inadmissible.  The court, however, disagreed and concluded that the posters’ declarations were admissible since they demonstrated “the then existing mental state of the declarents who posted the comments.” via Social Media and the Law » Blog Archive » Anonymous Yelp reviews not hearsay.. …

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Tweeting a Copyrighted Photograph Does Not Make it Fair Game for Others to Use

When someone posts their copyrighted photograph, that photograph does not become publicly available. It continues to be protected by copyright. Other people cannot then take that photograph and publish it for other purposes. See the following for more information: Judge: News agencies shouldn’t have used Twitter photos | Internet & Media – CNET News.

Business Situational Awareness, Social Media & Harvard Business Review

Do you understand business situational awareness and how your social media could be compromising it? If not, you really need to read this because not only do I explain it, but the Harvard Business Review has just posted a fantastic blog that really adds some depth to my explanation. Last March I wrote a blog …

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Social Media Evidence: Nightclub Promoter Tweets of Cowboys Players Drinking “Ace” Shortly Before Deadly Car Crash

When I give presentations on social media law, one of the topics I address is the use of social media as evidence in court cases. In the past I have usually used hypothetical examples to make my point of demonstrating how people’s penchant for saying really stupid things on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. can be …

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Executives of Public Companies Must Use Caution With Social Media – The SEC is Watching!

Are statements made by executives of publicly traded companies via social media held to the same standard as statements they make in any other limited environment when it comes to material information about the company? Absolutely, here is why …  Just this past week news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering bringing a …

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Lawsuit Over Ownership of Former Employee’s Twitter Followers Settled: PhoneDog v. Kravitz

If you have been in any of the seminars where I have presented on social media law, you have heard me say “an ounce of prevention is cheaper than the first day of litigation.” Right? Well it is true, and the context in which I said that is in reference to the lawsuit PhoneDog v. …

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Social Media Law: Video Presentation for Social Media Breakfast

The full video of my recent presentation on social media law is now available! On August 30, 2012, I made a presentation to Social Media Breakfast Dallas titled Social Media Law: It is Real and, Yes, It Can Impact Your Business. The presentation was about social media law and how it relates to businesses using social …

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Is a “Like” Protected Speech? Is It Different Than Giving “The Finger”?

I was recently asked my thoughts on the “Facebook ‘Like’ Case” on this blog’s Facebook Page and I decided that I would share my thoughts here as well given that this is such a burning issue in social media law. The short answer: I believe it was wrong for the court to find that a …

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