Entries Tagged 'Legal Issues' ↓

Happy Friday ReputationDefender readers! Before you set off to enjoy the weekend, check out our Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits. Today, we’re talking about “True” Twitter users, Google’s history of privacy problems, and whether anyone cares about privacy anymore anyways (they do, by the way). Enjoy!

–

Facebook Demands Ex-Detective to Reveal Name of Unsafe Social Networking Website

Facebook is considering suing the Daily Mail after the UK newspaper ran a story implying that it was their website that an ex-detective was talking about when he claims to have received sexual solicitations after establishing a fake account under the guise of a 14-year-old girl. For the most part, Facebook just wants the detective to come out and say what social networking website he was using so that they can step out from underneath the criticism, but the detective has refused to say, explaining that if he does, it’ll open the flood gates for predators.

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen Can Have Twitter, But Not His Own Website

Chicago White Sox fans cringed when Ozzie Guillen, the team’s famously hot-headed manager, announced that he had created a Twitter account. Now, at least they won’t have to worry about him going on random tirades on his very own website. According to this article from ESPN, the White Sox organization declined Guillen’s request to have a personal website. To his credit, Guillen didn’t seem to upset by the decision saying, “the front-office people didn’t want to have me in the middle of stuff, and I have to respect that.” You can’t blame the White Sox for looking out for their online reputation.

“True” Twitter Users Only Make Up 21% of the Twitter Userbase

According to a report from Barracuda Networks, only 21% of Twitter users are “True Twitter Users,” meaning that they have at least 10 followers, follow 10 people, and have updated their status with at least 10 tweets. Given Twitter’s rapid rise in prominence, these are pretty amazing statistics. We’ve seen other stats that show how top-heavy Twitter is, but it’s interesting to learn that 74% of Twitter users have less than 10 followers. One possibility suggested in the report for the rise in Twitter users without a substantial increase in quality of users is the “Celebrity Effect,” whereby individuals establish Twitter accounts just to follow their favorite celebrities.

Exploring Google’s History of Privacy Problems

Google is in a unique position in the Internet industry. The company is so large, so successful, and so widely used that every move it makes is bound to trigger a response from the public. Unfortunately, especially lately, many of these responses have been negative. In an article for CNNMoney, David Goldman outlines Google’s history of privacy problems from old concerns like data mining and behavioral advertising to newer issues like the Google Buzz fiasco.

Is it True That “No One Cares About Privacy Anymore”?

In an article for CNET, Declan McCullagh explains “why no one cares about privacy anymore.” While we would disagree with McCullagh (people may not care about privacy, but they certainly care about control over their own image), he raises some interesting points about online exhibitionism, the rise of social networking websites, and how privacy rights organizations have a history of complaining about Internet products that eventually become widely adopted.

Tweet This Post

Apple iPhone Will Let Users Unlock Doors?

With your Apple iPhone you can listen to music, watch movies, play games, and, soon enough, even unlock your doors. In a newly published patent application, Apple revealed plans for what some are already calling the iKey, which would use a pin code to unlock electronic locks in a user’s car, home, or office.

PleaseRobMe.com helped show the social media world the folly of using location-based social networking websites when you were away from your home, but Gowalla and Foursquare may be the least of your worries if someone can steal your iPhone and have keys to your home. For its part, Apple has included security features that could trigger an alarm for unauthorized use of the iKey.

UK Government Pushes Facebook for ‘Panic Button’

Following the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a man whom she met on Facebook, the UK government is pushing Facebook and other social networking websites to include a “panic button” that would help users get immediate law enforcement assistance if they believe they are being victimized. Facebook first discussed the possibility of adding a panic button, similar to the kind found on the social networking website Bebo, back in December.

Conan O’Brien Invited to the Wedding of his New Best Friend on Twitter

After turning 19-year-old Sarah Killen into an Internet celebrity overnight by selecting her as the first person that he would follow on Twitter, Conan O’Brien has received an invitation to join Killen and her fiance John Slowik, Jr. at their wedding. Considering the positive response that Conan has gotten for his interaction with Killen thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him don a tux and make a speech for the young couple. In fact, he could probably turn it into a web-only video special. Who needs The Tonight Show, right?

Twitter Takes on Phishing Scams

As Twitter has grown, so too has the website’s phishing problem. In particular, the recent spate of “Is this you?” direct message phishing attacks have prompted Twitter to rexamine how it’s protecting users from scammers. After analyzing the problem, Twitter has come up with a few fixes that they hope will make it harder for phishing attacks to spread. For one thing, Twitter will be rerouting all direct messages through its anti-phishing service before allowing them to be sent. Also, Twitter will be replacing bit.ly and other short URLs with their own, twit.tl, to signify that the link is secure.

Classmates.com Faces Privacy Lawsuit

In an attempt to play catch up with Facebook, Classmates.com opened up its public content to sharing on other social networking websites. Ironically, this move did help Classmates.com did catch up with Facebook in one way; now, both websites are facing class-action privacy lawsuits. According to Wired, the lawsuit alleges that Classmates.com switched their privacy policy so egregiously that they have violated Washington state and federal laws. Here is a PDF of the suit – http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/03/classmates.pdf.

Job Hunters Struggle to Get Past the Automatic Job Application

This article from the Miami Herald discusses the frustration that job seekers have in applying for jobs through websites and in-store kiosks instead of through pen and paper applications. When applying for a job online, there are a number of preset filters that make it impossible for many job seekers to even get their application seen. This makes the job hunting process seem futile and causes some people to give up on themselves. One of the things that could help individuals who are unemployed cut through the clutter and connect directly with an employer is proactive personal branding online.

Sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter offer valuable networking possibilities for users that understand how they work. Additionally, setting up a blog can help you get your name out there and distinguish yourself as a respected voice in your industry.

Tweet This Post

Are you confused about Internet law?

If someone says something mean about you on Facebook and the company does nothing to remove it, can you sue Facebook? Of course. This is the United States of America. By and large, you can sue anyone for anything. Will you win? More than likely, the answer is no. Why is this the case? Because of a small, but significant provision found in the Communication Decency Act of 1996: 47 U.S.C. Sec. 230, known informally as CDA 230.

Before we get into details on how CDA 230 protects Internet companies from liability related to online content, however, let’s get some background on the Communication Decency Act of 1996 came about.

The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was designated as Title V in the larger legislation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The inclusion of the Communications Decency Act in the greater Telecommunications Act was meant to criminalize obscenity online in the face of the rise of Internet pornography. (Remember, this was 1996, when Internet use was first becoming a common part of American life and people were worried that Internet porn was going to permanently damage our children.) Eventually, the scope of the bill was significantly tightened through the landmark case Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union.

Interestingly, CDA 230 was not an original part of the Communications Decency Act, but was added by the House of Representatives through the Internet Freedom and Family Empowerment Act, which was co-sponsored by Republican representative Chris Cox and Democratic representative Ron Wyden. The purpose of the addition was to protect Internet service providers from being held criminally liable for indecent content that its users posted. In legalese, the CDA 230 read, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

Back in 1996, this legislation applied mainly to companies such as AOL, and other large Internet service providers. As the web has expanded, however, courts have generally held that the definition of “interactive computer service” also includes websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and other social media websites. Some legal scholars consider this interpretation to be too broad however, and have lobbied to reduce the scope of CDA 230 to reflect modern Internet technologies which allow for rampant and protracted cyberattacks.

An important note about the CDA 230 is that it doesn’t mean individuals cannot file a lawsuit against someone who is defaming them online. Quite to the contrary, as demonstrated in ex-model Liskula Cohen’s lawsuit against Google last year, you can sue an Internet company to reveal the identity of someone who is attacking you online. Of course, whether or not a judge compels the company to give up that identity depends on the specifics of your case. Even in this situation, however, the Internet company hosting the defamatory content can not be found liable for any criminal damages.

So, in the big picture, what does CDA 230 mean for web users? For one thing, it means that while Internet companies have an economic interest in protecting users (no users = no advertising = no revenue), they are not legally compelled to do so. As such, if someone decides to level biased or unfair criticisms against you online, it can be difficult to get them removed. If you have a strong legal argument that the content in question is defamatory, you can hire an attorney to file a lawsuit on your behalf, but this process is long, costly, and generally unsatisfactory.

As an alternative, we advise utilizing a multifaceted reputation management solution, combining reputation monitoring with proactive personal and professional branding. To this end, ReputationDefender offers a wide range of products to help our customers protect their good names online, including MyReputation, MyPrivacy, and MyEdge. To learn more about these products, we encourage you to contact one of our Client Solutions Consultants today at 1-888-720-9980.

If the CDA 230 can keep web companies immune from damages, you should have something to protect you too. Let that something be ReputationDefender.

Tweet This Post

We hope you had a good time watching the glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards last night, but, sadly, it’s time to get back into the regular grind, which means our daily Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits. Check below to get caught up on the latest news that could help you defend your good name online.

–

UK Tightens Restrictions on Social Media Marketing

Twitter will begin rolling out its in-stream advertising sometime in the first half of this year. The move has been a long time coming, and is the first real attemp to give the massively popular social networking website a viable business model. Before Twitter ads can become a reality, however, the company must take steps to ensure that its plan falls in line with existing advertising regulations.

This article from The Guardian explains how the UK’s regulatory agency for advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority, will be tightening restrictions on how social networking websites like Twitter, as well as Facebook, can use company profiles for promotional activities.

Could Google Change Copyright Law Forever?

When Google set out to scan millions of old books and put them online, the company faced extreme criticism form copyright advocates, libraries, and scholars. The criticism spawned into a class-action lawsuit, which is currently being debated in federal court. In this article from the San Jose Mercury News, Mike Swift explores the lawsuit and how Google’s settlement offer could potentially allow the company to rewrite a major portion of copyright law.

Conan O’Brien Makes a 19-Year-Old Famous on Twitter

When Conan O’Brien joined Twitter a few weeks ago, it took no time at all for him to earn hundreds of thousands of followers. While he was racking up over half a million fans, however, Conan wasn’t following anyone himself. That is he wasn’t following anyone until he randomly picked Sarah Killen, a 19-year-old Michigan resident. Since selecting Sarah, Conan has directly increased the girl’s follower count from single digits to more than 15,000.

Happily, while the sudden onslaught of pseudo-celebrity could have gone to her head, Sarah appears to be taking her newfound fame in stride. She has even used her Twitter account to promote multiple charities and raise money for a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Walk in which she is participating. While Sarah has turned her Twitter celebrity into success thus far, however, there are plenty of pitfalls to being under the social media microscope. We hope that she will continue to make positive decisions and keep her online reputation clean, so that she and Conan can do even more good.

How To Set-Up Internet Filters to Protect Your Kids Online

Enabling filters and other software to keep inappropriate material off your computer is a difficult but necessary step to protect your kids from getting into trouble online. In this column from the San Jose Mercury News, Larry Magid explains some of the free filtering programs built into Internet browsers, as well as options that can be downloaded and customized for more robust protection.

Where Does Your Company Live Online: Your Homepage or Your Facebook Page?

If you’re promoting your business online, do you send your customers to your homepage or your Facebook profile? In an article for Forbes, Steve Rubel, SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, explains that, increasingly, companies are using their social media presence more prominently in advertising than their dot-com URLs.

While this is good in the sense that social media allows for interaction with customers, Rubel also points out that companies who simply establish a social media presence but don’t use it to communicate in any substantial way are seen as inauthentic by consumers. In other words, while social media is an important and effective tool, it works best in tandem with a corporate web presence.

Tweet This Post

Israeli Raid Called Off After Soldier Compromises Mission With Facebook Update

According to Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces called off a raid in the West Bank after a soldier posted details of the operation on Facebook. In addition to telling where the raid would take place, the soldier also said when it would start and when it would end. Interestingly, the soldier was reported to military authorities by his Facebook friends. This story should serve as a lesson to the United States military, who only recently allowed soldiers to use social networking websites.

Missouri Teen Suspended For Facebook Comments

A Missouri teen was attacked at school after posting an unflattering comment about one of her classmates to Facebook. Interestingly, the school has decided not only to suspend the girl’s attacker for fighting, but also the girl for posting the comment to Facebook in the first place. Now, the girl and her family are wondering whether or not the school has the right to punish her for her Facebook comments.

Can Toyota Tweet Its Way Out of a PR Crisis?

In what can only be described as a public relations nightmare, Toyota has been fighting to restore public faith in its cars after a series of safety recalls have called the company’s credibility into question. How does Toyota plan to regain their customers’ trust? One step they are taking is the establishment of Toyota Conversations, a Toyota-branded Twitter channel on TweetMeme.

Toyota isn’t the first company to turn to Twitter to help spin positive news and engage with customers, but will it be successful in the face of such massive negative publicity?

Proposed Utah Legislation Gives Prosecutors Major Access to Private Internet Data

According to Techdirt, proposed legislation in Utah would give the state attorney general’s office unprecedented power to demand information from Internet service providers. The Techdirt article alleges that, “prosecutors in the Attorney General’s office demand names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank information from mobile phone operators and ISPs — without a judge reviewing the request.” Check out the legislation for yourself.

Twitter Closes In On 10 Billion Tweets

According to Mashable, Twitter is on pace to reach 10 billion tweets. Considering the company reached one billion tweets around this same time last year, it is obvious that Twitter has seen an unprecedented growth. How funny would it be if the 10 billionth tweet was something wildly inappropriate or pure spam?

Tweet This Post