On Wednesday, July 27, I will be presenting at the California Lawyers Association IP Section’s conference on IP and the Internet, on the topic of the FTC and Online Reviews. Participation is virtual. 2022 IP AND THE INTERNET JULY 27 @ 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Schedule Link Registration Link See also:
Last year there were a number of reports of how women, women politicians, and women journalists were disproportionately targeted for abuse on online platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See LA Times, The Hill Highlight Online Abuse of Women Politicians and Journalists. One of those reports was a Wilson Center report entitled Malign Creativity:…
Fashion Nova, an online fashion retailer, agreed to pay $4.2 million as part of a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in which it will be prohibited from suppressing customer reviews of its products. The FTC alleged in a complaint that Fashion Nova misrepresented that the product reviews on its website reflected the views of…
Claiming there is “a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas,” Texas Governor Jim Abbott (R) signed H.B. 20 (An Act relating to censorship of or certain other interference with digital expression, including expression on social media platforms or through electronic mail messages). The Act is strictly an act of…
In December 2020, the Trump Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust complaint (Case No. 1:20-cv-03590, D.D.C.) against Facebook which came [f]ollowing a lengthy investigation in cooperation with a coalition of attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, the complaint alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy—including its 2012 acquisition…
(Republished on ReviewInc blog) Health care providers, like any other business, must navigate the challenges presented by their online reputation in the form of healthcare reviews. Reviews on sites like HealthGrades, RateMDs, Vitals, and Yelp can have a big impact on a provider’s bottom line, especially for smaller providers, as ninety percent (90%) of consumers use online reviews to evaluate providers.…
On May 24, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 (An act relating to social media platforms) under which (as described by Gov. DeSantis): Floridians treated unfairly by Big Tech platforms will have the right to sue companies that violate this law — and win monetary damages. This reform safeguards the rights of every…
I recently participated in Jubilee Media’s Middle Ground segment entitled “Who is Censored More? Liberals vs Conservatives.” It was a fun experience and the debate was interesting, as we talked about content moderation, combating abuse, hate and disinformation online over 90-minutes. The thirty-minute segment was posted on Sunday and, unfortunately, much of what I had…
The Los Angeles Times put together an interesting profile on how women politicians, such as Vice President Kamala Harris and others are targets for online abuse. A Wilson Center study, Malign Creativity: How Gender, Sex, and Lies are Weaponized Against Women Online, found that Harris was the overwhelming target for much of this abuse and…
On Wednesday, a hacker accessed 130 prominent Twitter accounts including that of Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and the most followed Twitter account on the planet – Barack Obama – to promote a bitcoin scam. This force Twitter to shut down verified Twitter users’ accounts for…
The Los Angeles Press Club announced the finalists for the 62nd Southern California Journalism Awards and I am “moooved” to report that Cyber Report has been nominated for the 10th time, this time for best individual blog for my piece on Six Things to Know About Devin Nunes’ Bizarre Lawsuit Against Twitter and a Tweeting Cow.…
The Federal Trade Commission has released a new publication for online influencers that lays out the agency’s rules of the road for when and how influencers must disclose sponsorships to their followers. The new guide, “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” provides influencers with tips from FTC staff about what triggers the need for a disclosure…
Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world and publisher of the annual Freedom on the Net report, released a pessimistic 2019 report “Freedom on the Net 2019: The Crisis of Social Media“. The report found a decline in internet freedom for the ninth year in…
1. Who is Devin Nunes? Devin Nunes (R) has represented the Fresno area in Congress since 2003. Nunes was Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and gained notoriety for his highly partisan handling of the Committee’s investigation to allegations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Nunes narrowly escaped defeat in 2018 in a Republican…
The Internet Law Center’s award-winning newsletter featuring the debate over online privacy sparked by the California Consumer Privacy Act is below.
Cyber Report 