Social Media Litigation

California Social Media Litigation Attorneys

Many businesses realize the positive benefit of using social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to help increase the visibility of their brand. Business leaders may be experts in turning profits but often have little involvement with the monetization of social media. This presents an opportunity for creative talent, such as a search engine optimization consultant or a public relations specialist, to lead the company’s social media efforts.

When business relationships end in bitter disputes, a looming question often centers around who owns the online creative property. Without a well-defined relationship, social media disputes can erupt quickly. A business owner may argue that the portfolio of information online is a key part of the company’s intellectual property. The creative talent administering the social media sites may attempt to claim ownership of content and accounts for themselves. The bottom line is that social media and digital content are the new currency of the internet. “Followers”, “comments”, “tweets” and “likes” have commercial value in today’s e-commerce ecosystem.

Erik Syverson is one of the few attorneys practicing in both Internet law and intellectual property. Mr. Syverson and our legal team have the skills, knowledge and resources to handle lawsuits involving complex areas of intellectual property, Internet and labor matters. Whether you are a business owner, social media star with million of subscribers or were hired to maintain a company’s social media campaign, entrust our law firm to protect your digital media rights.

Contact our Los Angeles law firm today for skilled advocacy in social media litigation.

Pursuing a Favorable Resolution to Social Media Disputes

Every dispute involving social media is fact specific. Our law firm offers a detailed approach to understanding the circumstances behind the dispute. If an employment contract was developed, we will analyze the terms of the contract to better understand how the relationship was defined.

There are a growing number of rules, regulations and statutes that now govern the business of social media. For example, bloggers fall under the Federal Trade Commission’s rules and regulations regarding endorsements. Bloggers who receive compensation from a brand for promoting the product online must disclose this monetary compensation. The FTC and State Attorney General offices also litigate false advertising actions against companies found to be misleading consumers with online marketing campaigns.

Some of the biggest Youtube stars are children subject to unique regulatory frameworks at the federal and state level.

Privacy rights are at the forefront of social media litigation. Increasingly, consumers and class action attorneys are filing lawsuits against companies like Facebook, Instagram and Hulu regarding the use of user data and whether or not such use violates certain statutes and breach of contract principles. For example, Facebook was sued in Fraley v. Facebook for using its users’ images without permission to promote various brands in sponsored stories. Hulu was sued in a class action for violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing user viewing habits to third parties. Instagram was recently sued in the matter of Funes v. Instagram for certain changes made to its privacy policy. While some of these privacy lawsuits lack merit, it is important to retain experienced class action defense attorneys with an understanding of the holes in such cases. Because of our Internet law expertise, we understand that most of these privacy lawsuit cases fall apart either for lack of standing or class certification issues.

A number of state and federal statutes are typically implicated in social media litigation. For example, at the federal level, the Stored Communications Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act provide civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized access to social media accounts. Many states are enacting social media specific legislation. California recently passed an internet impersonation law making internet impersonation a misdemeanor and providing for civil remedies including damages.

When trial is unavoidable, we will not hesitate to aggressively protect our clients’ interests. We have the resources to work with forensic computer specialists who help us uncover evidence in our clients’ favor. Our trial skills combined with our acute understanding of Internet law are invaluable in helping us pursue a favorable trial verdict.

Contact Our Los Angeles Social Media Litigation Lawyers

For more information on social media disputes, contact our law firm to meet with a highly skilled California social media litigation lawyer.