The 2011 changes to the EU E-Privacy Directive require website operators to obtain visitor consent via an opt in if the site uses cookies. As a reminder, on October 14th, EU’s data protection regulators released a new guidance note clarifying website operators should obtain consent by some affirmative action. Specifically, the regulators recommended that: Specific Read More…
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Can Announcing A New Job Via Social Media Cause Liability?
When can announcing your new job via your social media page or profile potentially land you in hot water? A recent lawsuit filed in Massachusetts raised the issue of whether an employee who announced a new job on LinkedIn violated a non-compete agreement entered into with the former employer. Unfortunately, the court never had to decide the Read More…
The Legal Do’s & Don’ts Of Email Marketing
Here are some specific guidelines under the CAN-SPAM Act that have emerged from some fairly recent FTC cases (i.e. FTC vs. Jumpstart Technologies, LLC and FTC v. and Optin Global, Inc.). Your business should use these case decisions as a sort of practical checklist on what not to do: Avoid Subject Lines that Falsely Suggest an Existing Read More…
Is Your Favorite Store Tracking You?
Did you know that when you visit certain stores, some of your actions may now be tracked! Recently, an increasing number of retail stores are beginning to use WiFi enabled smartphones to track their customers movement within the store. The information being tracked seems innocuous. For example, data collected has included how long a customer Read More…
The 6 Basic Things The CAN-SPAM Act Does!
FIRST, the law regulates and makes criminal the following activities: Accessing a protected computer (basically any computer used in interstate commerce or communication) without authorization, and intentionally initiating the transmission of multiple commercial emails from or through such computer (the term “Multiple emails”means more than 100 emails during a 24-hour period, more than 1,000 emails during Read More…
New Top-Level Domains Coming Soon!
If you thought there were already too many top-level (TLD’s) domains available, get ready for an avalanche! If you are not already familiar with domain hierarchy, a top-level domain (“TLD”) is the core suffix of the domain, such as .com, .net, .org, etc. Most TLDs with three or more characters are referred to as “generic” Read More…
Understanding CAN-SPAM Email Laws 101!
Many businesses use emails as a means of marketing and promotion. The instantaneous and direct nature of a targeted message to your in-box can be a powerful form of advertising. Not to mention it’s an extremely cost-effective and efficient method of advertising. In response to the explosion in the use of email mass marketing, Congress Read More…
Restricting Competition with Your Internet Business!
You can legally restrict, or in some cases prohibit, competition with your business through use of binding Non-compete Agreements. A Non-compete Agreement is essentially a contractual provision, or a separate agreement itself, that prevents one of your employees, consultants, agents or independent contractors from engaging in activities that compete with your business. Non-compete agreements go Read More…
How Non-Solicitation Covenants Protect Your Business!
Non-Solicitation of Customers & Employees Similar to any other investment or hard asset, your customer base and employees need to be protected. After you have spent considerable time, effort and expense in training and cultivating core employees to operate your business, these individuals become assets. Your customer base is always an asset and should always Read More…
New California Online Privacy Laws Bring Big Changes!
California is at again! Recently, the state has enacted a wave of new online privacy laws that website, online service, application or database operators that collect personally identifiable information must follow. Of course, many websites, apps and online services are made available to a national and/or global audience, including residents of California.> There are 4 Read More…