A federal appeals court has agreed to put on hold a Texas social media law, HB 20, that restricts content moderation actions on social media platforms. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that it was granting a September request from social media platforms to block enforcement of the law as trade associations appeal

In attempts to lessen the uncertainty that still surrounds the legality of fantasy sports, Maryland and Florida introduced measures to clarify the rules of the road for the likes of DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc. Maryland’s regulations, adopted by the state Office of the Comptroller, went into effect January 2, while Florida’s House of Representatives

Earlier this month, President Obama approved two pieces of consumer protection legislation aimed at curbing the use of automatic programs to purchase tickets through online sellers and limiting the ability of companies to use contacts to prevent customers from posting online product reviews. Both bills passed through Congress with bipartisan support, as we reported in

Last week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee introduced their first of many upcoming policy proposals aimed at modernizing U.S. copyright law, and, specifically, the U.S. Copyright Office. This proposal sets out specific changes for the Copyright Office, including creating an advisory committee, introducing an information technology modernization plan, increasing the Office’s

From the Stanley Cup to the NBA Championship, there were some major sports victories these last few weeks.  Championship cities celebrated with fans flooding their streets for victory parades.  But one sports victory—a win that without question affects far more fans than those in the Steel City and Cleveland—did not occur on the court or

In an October blog post, we reported on the New York labor law amendments enacted specifically to protect runway and print models under the age of 18, providing them with the same protections that other young performers had received. Furthering the requirements of the amended laws, the New York Department of Labor recently released updated forms that employers must use when engaging child performers, including models.
Continue Reading New Paperwork Required for NY Employers Engaging Child Performers

On June 13, 2014, the Massachusetts Senate passed S. 2022, beginning the process of joining 13 other states that prohibit companies from using celebrities’ identities after they die. The bill amends Section 3A of Chapter 214 of Massachusetts General Laws, and creates a post-mortem “Right of Publicity” interest. The bill prohibits commercial use of the name, image, and likeness of a “personality” for 70 years after his or her death without written permission from either the personality or “persons who collectively own more than 50 per cent of the aspect of the personality’s right of publicity that was commercially used . . . .” “Personality” is defined as “an individual whose identity has commercial value.” To garner the bill’s protection, however, the personality must be domiciled in Massachusetts as of the date of his or her death.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Enhances Protections for Celebrities (and Others) After Death

On May 21, 2014, Oklahoma enacted H.B. 2372, following the trend outlined in our earlier article on the growing number of states prohibiting employers from requesting employee or applicant social media account passwords. H.B. 2372 prohibits employers from requesting or requiring the user name and password of employees’ or applicants’ personal social media accounts or demanding employees or applicants to access the accounts in front of the employer. The law also prohibits employers from firing, disciplining, or denying employment to employees or applicants who refuse to provide the requested information.
Continue Reading Oklahoma Joins the Rapidly Growing Number of States with Social Media Password Laws

House Republicans have introduced a bill to block the IANA transition. These are the same Republicans behind the quickly-called hearings set for April 2. “America shouldn’t surrender its leadership on the world stage to a ‘multistakeholder model’ that’s controlled by foreign governments,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). This seems to ignore a number of the points set out in the NTIA announcement, which specifically says that any government-led or intergovernmental-led solution will be rejected. On top of that, an implementation of the multistakeholder model to assume the IANA oversight functions hasn’t been proposed yet. The process of developing that implementation hasn’t even been proposed yet. Yet somehow, these lawmakers believe they need to pull out jingoistic rhetoric to support wild-eyed claims that the Internet could turn into “another Russian land-grab.”
Continue Reading Straight from Singapore: Special Edition on the IANA Transition