Legal and Business Concerns of the Newly Minted Social Media Star

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#136888792 / gettyimages.com Over the past few years, a new type of celebrity has emerged: the social media star.  These are individuals that have achieved a level of fame through various digital media outlets (i.e. YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs, etc.).  Social media stardom is a relatively new phenomenon that is quickly starting […]

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FTC Settles With Yelp and TinyCo for Alleged COPPA Violations

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Yelp Inc. (“Yelp”) and TinyCo, Inc. (“TinyCo”) recently settled charges filed against them for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Act.  The FTC alleged that both companies failed to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using or disclosing personal information about children under the age

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FCC Provides Guidance for SDR Manufacturers

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#114266316 / gettyimages.com On July 17, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its much anticipated Software Defined Radio Application Guide (the “Guide”).  Since 2005, as software defined radios (“SDRs”) began to increase in popularity, the FCC has only provided partial guidance on the SDR approval process.  However, with the release of the Guide, radio

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Debt Collector that Allegedly Called Wrong Numbers Settles Multi-Million Dollar TCPA Class Action

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A debt collection company recently entered into a settlement agreement in the putative class action captioned Jonsson v. USCB, Inc. (C.D. Cal.)(Case No. 13-CV-8166), involving allegations that it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by calling the named plaintiff and thousands of class members using an autodialer

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Bank of America Settles TCPA Lawsuit for Over $32 Million

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Bank of America Corporation (“Bank of America”) and FIA Card Service, N.A. (“FIA”) (collectively, the “Defendants”) have agreed to pay one of the largest Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) settlement amounts in recent memory.  According to the settlement agreement, the Defendants have agreed to pay over $32 million to settle a consolidated TCPA class action.  The

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Legal Challenges to Daily Fantasy Sports Games Disappearing

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Daily Fantasy Sports Games As discussed numerous times on this site, the legality of fantasy sports contests that require an entry fee, and that pay out cash prizes, varies by state.  Pay-to-play contests that offer prizes to winners can be considered illegal gambling under certain circumstances, depending on the jurisdiction. There is currently an exemption

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FCC Declares Overly-Broad Absolute Liability for Unsolicited Faxes under the TCPA?

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In response to an invitation from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit concerning a question involving the interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) filed a letter brief in Court on July 17, 2014, declaring that “under the plain text of [the Code of Federal

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