Internet &amp; Social Media Law Blog

In another case of the law trying to keep pace with evolving technology, legislators are introducing bills to punish those who attempt to create false images that purport to be real. Targeting the rise of automated computer-generated imagery that has become increasingly accessible to the public, on February 14, 2019, California Assemblyman Marc Berman introduced a bill to create a criminal cause of action for making or distributing a “deepfake.” Deepfakes are multimedia, often audiovisual recordings, that seem real but that are generated by computers, often utilizing artificial intelligence-enhanced algorithms.

Posted March 29, 2019

CFIUS Grounds Grindr IPO

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has effectively ordered the divestiture of Beijing Kunlun’s ownership of the online dating site, Grindr, just as the company was preparing for an IPO. The case is important for three reasons. It emphasizes the importance of a CFIUS risk assessment before an investment or acquisition is negotiated. It highlights the risks of deciding not to make a voluntary CFIUS filing before the deal closes. And it sends a message to parties who have already closed: the U.S. government is watching, so assess your CFIUS exposure now.

Posted March 28, 2019

Going for the Green, Part II: Patents for Cannabis Plant Processing Methods, Coffee Pods and Condoms

Given the growth of investments in and shift of regulatory views regarding cannabis-related products, many companies in industries like medicine, lifestyle and foods/beverages are looking to carve out niches and be leaders in the relatively new space. As with any new technology space, it is essential to have a robust intellectual property protection strategy to both establish and preserve one’s position as a dominant player in an emerging market. One important step that a company may take when creating such a strategy is applying for patents.

Posted March 27, 2019

Say Hello to the EU Copyright Directive

Back in September, we looked at the concerns and implications surrounding a proposed new copyright law being considered by EU legislators. Yesterday, perhaps faster than many expected, the European Parliament passed the new law. Many tech companies, digital rights activists and academic researchers found common ground in opposing the legislation, which they claim will stifle information sharing and enable censorship. Supporters of the law see it as a means to protect creative content. As written, the legislation is not quite as restrictive in all areas as initially feared—memes and gifs are “safe,” as are uploads to noncommercial and open-source sites—but nonetheless, now that it has been passed, and after inevitable legal challenges lead to further adjustments in the language, we’ll see who was right.

Posted March 26, 2019

Going for the Green, Part I: Epilepsy Drugs, Sparkling Water and the Continued Shift in Government Regulation Concerning Cannabis-Based Products

Over the past several years, cannabis has been one of the hottest areas of investment and innovation, with many states introducing legislation to legalize cannabis use in some form. Correspondingly, many companies have entered the U.S. market and are even listed on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, leading to much interest on Wall Street. Many nascent industries have budded in the cannabis space, ranging from growing the cannabis plant itself to extraction processes to consumer products like vapes.

Posted March 21, 2019

Facial Recognition Technology May Soon Gain Some New Wrinkles

No one knows your face as well as your iPhone does. All the unique variances of your face that make it yours and yours alone, these are all data points that your iPhone uses to unlock your phone using a face in place of a thumbprint. This same data that the iPhone collects can be used by the underlying tech—facial recognition technology—in a vast array of applications, from border control to photo tagging to law enforcement. But is this data (the measurement of the space between the eyes, the texture of the skin, etc.) open data? Or do individuals have a right to protection of an image of their face?

Posted March 14, 2019

SEC Names First Chief Risk Officer

On the heels of a January 2019 announcement that it was charging nine persons with participation in a scheme that allowed them to hack into the SEC’s confidential database of public filings, commonly known as EDGAR. On February 28, the SEC named Gabriel Benincasa as its first-ever Chief Risk Officer (CRO). Although the two events have no direct causal link, they serve as useful reminders that the SEC is determined to re-emphasize its mission to ensure the smooth operation of the U.S. securities markets and to root out and punish instances of fraud and market manipulation, be it by traditional methods or where digital tools are implicated and databases are compromised. The position of CRO is a new one at the SEC. Created by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to strengthen the agency’s risk management and cybersecurity efforts, Benincasa’s office will help to coordinate efforts to identify, monitor and address risks facing the agency.

Posted March 8, 2019

Creators Take Care: SCOTUS Adjusts the Timing of the Copyright Registration Tango

by Michael Kreiner

Michael Kreiner

Fortnite is the most popular video game in the world. So popular that it was last year’s highest earning video game, grossing more than $2.4 billion in 2018 alone. So popular, in fact, that its fans successfully convinced Sony to reverse its longstanding policy against cross-platform gaming, thus allowing PlayStation Fortniters to play with their PC, mobile and other console-owning friends. Fortnite is also free.

Posted March 4, 2019

(Un)making History: ETC, a 51% Attack and How to Change an Unchangeable Blockchain

Back in January, news of reversed transactions on the Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain (little brother to the main Ethereum blockchain) made headlines and raised concerns about blockchain security. The product of a “51% attack,” these transaction reversals allowed some ETC tokens to be spent twice, a cardinal sin in cryptocurrency called a “double spend,” and the exact problem blockchains were invented to solve.

Posted February 26, 2019

News of Note for the Internet-Minded – 2/25/19 – Algorithms, Terms of Service and the Death of the Password

Online platforms battle the trolls (and ad blockers); Pokemon GO! creator Niantic promises to watch things a bit more closely; blockchain is not as “unhackable” as many think; and more …