In addition to the privacy dispute over Facebook’s new facial recognition feature, several class action lawsuits (in California, New York, and most recently, Illinois) have been filed against Facebook during the last few months for using minors’ names, likenesses, preferences, and activity on the site.  The plaintiffs claim that Facebook has been releasing this information to advertisers for them to direct their ads to specific demographics, and using the collected information to place in “social ads” by the social media site itself.

Other recent social media litigation includes several class actions filed against both Twitter and MySpace in federal district court, alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because of confirmation texts sent by the social media sites after users chose to “opt out.”  Click the links above to view the complaints.

Social media and related legal issues will be covered in depth during several sessions at the 33rd Annual PMA Marketing Law Conference, November 15-16, 2011 in Chicago.  Discussing the internal issues in developing and carrying out corporate social policies will be Melissa Landau Steinman, Partner, Venable LLP; Sarah LaVoi, Corporate Counsel, Marketing-Intellectual Property, McDonald’s Corporation; and other speakers to be named.  In a second session, Ken Florin (Partner, Loeb & Loeb LLP), Christopher McCleary (Associate General Counsel, VISA), and other panelists will explore the external aspects of social media, including the current legal, regulatory, and intellectual property challenges.   Continue to check the PMA website for updates to the conference agenda and details on registration.