8/20/20
By: Barry Miller Litigators fight a continuing battle in trying to get social media evidence. When an opponent does not cooperate, the only option may be to subpoena that information directly from the owner of the social media platform. On August 13, the Supreme Court of California issued an opinion that may guide other courts…
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say….You Probably Shouldn’t Post It!
8/22/18
By: Shaun Daugherty & Samantha Skolnick Mothers all over the world have admonished their children: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” It may lose something when translated into some obscure dialects, but the sentiment was still there. Now that we live in the age of technology, it appears that…
7/27/18
Employee’s Slang in Comments on Social Media Protected as Concerted Activity By: Robyn Flegal A panel of the National Labor Relations Board ordered an Iowa electric company to rehire and pay back wages to a utility pole employee who was terminated for posting on social media that the Company was a “goat bang,” which he…
Facebook and Twitter: More Transparency for Political Ads
6/4/18
By: Amy Bender In the wake of the alleged Russian interference with the U.S. presidential election through targeted Facebook ads, both Facebook and Twitter now have imposed conditions for political campaign advertisements. Since there currently are no legal requirements for posting political content on private social media platforms, the platforms have the freedom – and,…
Countries Around the World Are Investigating Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica Event
4/26/18
By: Allen E. Sattler On March 18, 2018, news broke of the Cambridge Analytica event where the data of an estimated 87 million Facebook users was disclosed to the UK-based political consulting firm. The breach of user data resulted in several U.S. investigations, including by Congress and by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Facebook entered…
Antisocial Media: Court Critical of Cop Capturing Curious Citizen’s Cellphone
4/23/18
By: E. Charles Reed, Jr. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a police officer violates clearly established law by seizing a bystander’s cellphone at an accident scene in the absence of exigent circumstances. With the rise of social media and the availability of devices with cameras, newsworthy events and potential evidence of…
Are Your Facebook Job Postings Violating the ADEA
2/8/18
By: Brenton S. Bean So say putative class action plaintiffs in the Northern District of California. See Communications Workers of America et al v. T-Mobile US, Inc., et al, Case No. 5:17-cv-7232 (N.D. Ca), filed Dec. 20, 2017. Plaintiffs assert that Facebook has become the modern employment agency, providing not only a platform, but also…
Employee Fired for Tweeting Complaint About Sex Jokes
3/26/13
By: David Cole This USA Today article is another example of how social media is presenting new legal issues in the workplace. According to the story, the tech company SendGrid fired a female employee named Adria Richards because she tweeted complaints about a group of men sitting behind her at a conference making sex jokes. …
NLRB Strikes Down Another Social Media Policy
12/10/12
By: David Cole The NLRB has ruled that another social media policy is unlawful because it infringes on employees’ rights to engage in concerted activity. This time, it looked at DISH Network’s social media policy, which stated that “you may not make disparaging or defamatory comments about DISH Network, its employees, officers, directors, vendors, customers,…
California Becomes Third State to Limit Access to Employees' Social Media Accounts
10/1/12
By: David Cole
On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law that significantly limits when California employers may ask employees and job applicants for social media information. Under the new law, an employer cannot require or request an employee or job applicant to disclose his username or password, access a social
Better Not Ask for an Employee’s Facebook Password in Illinois
8/9/12
By: Brad Adler
Reacting to the chorus of critics lamenting the purported trend of employers demanding employees provide them with their social networking passwords, Illinois has now joined Maryland in prohibiting companies from demanding an employee’s social networking passwords as a condition of employment. The law applies to both small and large employers and
New Guidelines on Social Media Policies
5/11/12
By: Joyce Mocek
Last week, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issed a 24 page report containing specific guidelines for employers on their policies concerning social media use. This is the third report that the NLRB has issued on social media policies, and it helped clarify what the NLRB considers to be lawful or unlawful provisions in employer policies on social