Defamation

What is the Proper Venue for an Alleged Defamatory Facebook Post in Florida? (James Lowery III v. Shane McBee)

A Martin County resident alleged posted a defamatory Facebook post which was read by a third party in neighboring Palm Beach County. Where is the proper venue? According to James Cullen Lowery, III v. Shane McBee, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal held that “there was no“injury” to Plaintiff until …

1st Amendment

Florida Statute Criminalizes School Shooting & Bombing Threats – How Does Law Enforcement Locate People Who Post Online Threats? (O.P-G. v. Florida)

Two days after the Parkland School shooting in Broward County, a middle school student twenty miles away in Miami Lakes, Florida decided to post on YouTube the following: “I[’]m going to shoot my school in [F]lorida[.] [I’]m only 13[.] I got bull[ied] and [I’]m getting my revenge with my guns[.] …

Data Breach

Christopher Hopkins Discusses Cybersecurity & Technology for Lawyers At Law Firm Leaders Summit

I was invited to speak today in Tampa about cybersecurity and technology for lawyers at the Law Firm Leaders Summit conference. I presented to both “small firm” and “large firm” tracks at the seminar. We covered: Getting hacked on public wifi Phishing, Spearfishing and other hacks Ransomware U.S. Government’s “NIT” …

1st Amendment

The First Amendment and the Hurdles to Obtain an Injunction in Florida for Social Media Cyberstalking (Derek Warren Logue v. Lauren Frances Book)

A Florida trial court entered an injunction for stalking against the appellant for, among other things, posting a picture of the appellee’s house with her address, a song video with obscene title and lyrics, and a cartoon depicting the appellee with an obscene reference. The appellant filed an appeal, claiming …

1st Amendment

Three Steps to Understanding Why Government Officials Cannot Block Users on Social Media (Knight First Amendment Institute et al. v. Donald J. Trump et al.)

There is some confusion about the recent Second Circuit opinion as to how, on a private social media platform, a government official, using a personal account, cannot block other users. The following three step process should lead just about everyone to understand the outcome. The case is Knight First Amendment …

Internet

When You See People Trying to Sue a Social Media Platform Because Their Account Was Suspended, It’s a Stunt (lessons of the CDA & Brittain v. Twitter)

A number of politicians, activists, and others who feel aggrieved after their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and/or YouTube content has been removed or their accounts suspended have taken to the courts to sue the social media platforms with claims that they are being singled out, muzzled, or their free speech is …

Injunction

Casual Sexual Relationships and Florida’s Injunction Against Dating Violence (versus other injunctions)

When seeking an injunction in Florida to prevent someone from contacting you, pay careful attention to which statute best applies. This is the (unfortunate) lesson of Tyler Sumners v. Lindsey Thompson. After meeting on Craigslist, the parties had a four year consensual sexual relationship punctuated by periods of time when …

1st Amendment

Applying “Old” Laws to New Technology: Smartphones, Recordings, Privacy (at FAU)

Special thanks to attorney / instructor Larry Buck for inviting me to speak to his Florida Atlantic University “Law in the Real World” honors class about my practice, particularly how we apply traditional laws to new, emerging technologies. We discussed: drone regulation First Amendment and social media (US v. Hobgood, …

1st Amendment

Is a Demand for an Apology = Extortion? (Social Media & First Amendment:U.S. v. Hobgood)

In the song, “Hello,” Adele sings as a jilted lover, calling “a thousand times… to tell you I’m sorry.” It became a hit song in 2015. Contrast that with the facts of U.S. v. Hobgood, out of the Eighth Circuit, where the defendant had a brief romantic relationship with “KB,” …

Privacy

Don’t Let LinkedIn Follow You Around the Internet (and other privacy settings)

Have you checked your LinkedIn privacy settings? Don’t be fooled with a “I barely even used LinkedIn” attitude. Take 2 minutes. From the article below, here are the key steps: [easier if you have two screens, keep this open and then open your LinkedIn account on your second screen] 1. …

Ethics

Florida Supreme Court Allows Judges to be Facebook Friends With Lawyers But Four Justices Disagree With the Practice (“I write to strongly urge judges not to participate in Facebook”)

The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict between two intermediate appellate courts when it determined that a judge-lawyer “Facebook friend” relationship, alone, was not enough to warrant recusal of the judge.  The Court deemed its position was the majority position around the country.  However, four justices noted that caution, if …

E-discovery

Christopher Hopkins Discusses Social Media Discovery in 2018 at Palm Beach Bar Association

Special thanks to the Palm Beach Bar Association for inviting me to speak at the CLE, “How to Get Your Claim Move-In Ready for Trial.” Space is still available and you can sign up here. My small portion of the event was to discuss Florida social media discovery as well …

E-discovery

NBI CLE: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, and Smartphone Evidence (Florida)

Special thanks to National Business Institute (NBI) for hosting this 2-day CLE seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. You can find the seminar information (and download the audio) here. My topics included: Apps and Emerging Technology You Must Know Preserving Electronic Evidence and Avoiding Spoliation Social Media Cases Metadata Made Simple …

Arbitration Mediation

Florida Dispute Resolution Conference 2018: Christopher Hopkins Discusses ESI/E-Discovery for Mediators AND Cyber Security and Data Breach for Mediators

Thanks to the Florida Dispute Resolution Conference for inviting me to speak at the 2018 conference. Topics covered: 25 ESI and E-Discovery Terms for Mediators in 75 minutes and Cybersecurity and Data Breach for Mediators. You can download the presentations here and here. If you would like CME points, you …

Privacy

Reddit Automatically Opts You In to Ads & Tracking — Here’s the Privacy Setting Changes to Make Now

While Reddit users tend to be savvy internetters, few of you have likely bothered to check Reddit’s privacy / personalization settings. You need to. Log into Reddit on your PC/Mac, click your user name in the upper right, and select user settings. Note: you cannot make these changes from the …