Classmates.com Tied To More Dubious Marketing Tactics
Classmates.com is accused of misleading consumers and has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a suit but did not admit any wrongdoing.
Social Media Permeate the Employment Life Cycle
National Law Journal: “Employers must address their use and misuse before, during and after an employee’s tenure. Social media are any type of Internet-based media created through social interaction in which individuals primarily produce, rather than consume, the content. In the workplace, the prevalent social media are video-sharing Web sites (YouTube), social networking Web sites (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter), online multiuser virtual worlds (Second Life, World of Warcraft) and personal or corporate blogs. The increased use of social media in the workplace, by employees and employers alike, presents both opportunities and risks for employers because social media now permeate the entire life cycle of employment: during pre-employment inquiries, throughout the period of employment and after separation from employment. Employers must consider and address the use and misuse of social media at each stage.”
Class Action Target Sues Law Firm for Defamation
Law.com: “Soon after filing a class action last spring against the maker of a dietary supplement called Procera AVH, Thomas Clarke Jr., a partner in the San Francisco office of Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley, uploaded a video on YouTube about the class action and talked to a television reporter for a news story about the litigation. Now, Brain Research Labs, the defendant in that class action, has sued Clarke and his law firm, as well as the plaintiff named in the complaint, saying their comments on TV and the Internet are defamatory and have hurt the company’s business. In a Friday hearing on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the company’s lawyers painted Clarke as an attorney who’d gone too far.”
Social Networking and the New Workplace
Social networking is here to stay, but its use may have legal consequences for employers and employees. This article discusses social networking in the workplace, including guidelines that employers should adopt.
Prying Into a Teen’s Private Facebook Pages
Law.com: “Imagine gaining access to a teenager’s diary. Confidentiality is violated when an outsider turns the pages. These days, those personal thoughts are more likely to be documented electronically on social networking sites rather than on paper. But the same level of confidentiality can exist if someone wants to restrict access to just one person or a select circle of friends. That doesn’t mean all of those supposedly private communications won’t become public. Consider the case of Tatum Bass.”