Legal Question in Technology Law in New York

Since your site is a UGC operation primarily (User Generated Content), you are in the social media space. UGC and privacy issues are at the heart of the social media legal checklist. That being said, the following attempts to identify some �pillar� legal issues that any social media operator should understand.

1. UGC. In other words, it is critical that any social media service operator has in place a clear directive on the ownership and sourcing of intellectual and other properties contributed by users. Look no further than Youtube to see a constantly evolving landscape on how DMCA is applied.

2. IP in General. It is important to have basic copyright and trademark knowledge as commercially potted items routinely make their way into social media forums. Also, your own policies towards user IP needs to be addressed (do you own the works that users place n the site, are you granted a perpetual non-exclusive license to adapt and edit?)

3. DMCA. In addition, a clear statement of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and its application to the site is critical. If you are unfamiliar with the DMCA safe harbor you should become familiar with it as soon as possible.

4. Defamation and Section 230. In an age where users are more vocal with each other coupled with social media toolsets, the possibility for defamatory statements rises exponentially everyday. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a statutory safe harbor for defamatory statements made by users about other users. Similar to the DMCA, this is a safe harbor for operators that should not be overlooked.

5. Privacy, Privacy, Privacy. On the forefront of the social media legal challenge is the protection and use of user data (personally identifiable data in particular: emails, names, social security numbers, etc.). The FTC has just weighed in on this debate by refining its privacy guidelines. Also, to the extent that the site operates and is accessible overseas, you may have to comply with overseas privacy mandates (the EU in particular has a very user friendly regime). US operations may wish to apply for a privacy safe harbor.

You may want to subscribe to my blog (below) which discusses social media and legal issues. Also, you will want to look into devising a sound terms of service agreement and privacy policy that addresses the above issues when setting up your sit, in order to have a contractual basis to ward off liability and bad users. I hope this helps.

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