LXBN This Week: Facebook, JOBS Act, Viacom v. Youtube, Citizens United, Apple eBooks

Welcome to ‘LXBN this Week,’ where I’ll share what I’ve seen and heard across the LXBN network the last week and highlight some upcoming things. I hope you’ll enjoy this new addition to Real Lawyers Have Blogs.

• For some time, the subject of employers asking employees and applicants for their Facebook passwords has been a popular subject of conversation amongst the employment law bloggers on the LexBlog Network. Things ramped up a bit this week as Maryland passed legislation forbidding the practice. Funning thing though, it really doesn’t do anything. Littler‘s Philip Gordon describes it:
  

  Notably, the Maryland law contains no enforcement provision. The law does not authorize applicants or employees to sue. The law does not even delegate authority to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, or any other government agency, to enforce it.

  While Gordon’s was probably the best post on the Maryland law, there were at last count 4 other posts on the same topic, and nearly 40 posts on Facebook passwords requests in general, which includes a LXBN TV interview with Daniel Schwartz.

• If Facebook passwords were the most popular subject on LXBN over the past few weeks, then the recently-signed JOBSAct is a close second. LXBN saw 34 posts on the JOBS Act over the last two to three months, with a few of those posts coming in as early as December of last year. Included among those posts is an LXBN Roundtable that highlights some of the best coverage and an LXBN TV interview with Megan Muir of DLA Piper and contributor to The Venture Alley.Fox Rothschild‘s James Saksa covered the story the best for the Securities Compliance Sentinel, with a number of posts on the matter from all sorts of angles.  James also kept in mind that securities law blogs may not be the most popular of topics, and tried to lighten the mood with some of his own personal thoughts and humor.
• With Viacom v. Youtube—a potential $1 billion copyright suit—being revived by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, we saw six different posts on LXBNfrom technology, intellectual property, and appellate law bloggers.My favorite posts on the subject were from Joseph Rosenbaum on Reed Smith Legal Bytes (which was brief, but succinct and informative), and Jenevieve Maerker on Foley Hoag’s Trademark and Copyright Law Blog, which was more rich in detail and really gave a great look at all the different elements the Second Circuit asked the District Court to examine and what it meant for everyone; from Youtube and Viacom to content hosts on the internet. Maerker also came on LXBN TV to discuss the case.
• The ultra-conservative Citizens United Supreme Court decision—which held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting political contributions by corporations and unions—is back in the news as the Supreme Court announced it would revisit the opinion. As noted in a LXBN TV interview and a post on the subject by McKenna Long’s Stefan Passantino, don’t get to excited.
  

  A good example of what to expect in the future from the Supreme Court in this case can be found in Bluman v. FEC; a fun case in which a few individuals sought to challenge the prohibition against foreign nationals from making direct contributions or independent expenditures in domestic elections on first amendment grounds by arguing that Citizens United didn’t mean what it said. The U.S. Supreme Court dispatched that argument in four words. I’m setting the “over-under” for the Court’s reversal and remand consistent with its ruling in Citizens United in this case at twenty-five words. Any takers?

• Lastly, we have the Department of Justice’s qualms with Apple over the supposed price-fixing of ebooks, which is covered excellently by Max Kennerly of Litigation & Trial and The Beasley Firm. We highlight Max frequently on LXBN and on the daily “Best of” recaps on Real Lawyers Have Blogs, and it’s for good reason.  He always finds time to cover top legal stories, even if they happen to be slightly outside of the scope of his practice area as a plaintiff’s trial lawyer.
• Tuesday and Thursday of this week, the LXBN Network Webinar Series continues with “Networking through the Internet : Leveraging the Internet and your blog to grow your business.”

Have a great week.