Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Unition declared the Privacy Shield between the European Union (EU) and the U.S. be an inadequate means of privacy protection. This was done on the grounds that the surveillance programs of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) failed to properly safeguard personal data from […]

Contests, sweepstakes, and lotteries have historically been subject to many federal and state laws. As social media and the internet use is at an all-time high, online promotions and giveaways allow businesses the opportunity to reach a much broader group of consumers and potential participants.  This article examines how traditional contest laws apply to online […]

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are a type of cryptocurrency that are uniquely valued representations of different assets. While more common cryptocurrencies are fungible, meaning they are identical to each other and can traded at equivalency (i.e. 1 bitcoin = 1 bitcoin), NFTs cannot be traded or exchanged equally. One NFT does not hold the same value […]

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is comprised of rules that apply to copyrighted material that may be infringed upon on the internet. A DMCA notice informs a company, individual, or other web host that they are hosting copyright-infringing material. Such copyrighted material could be, for example, written works, videos, audio or music files, artwork, photos, […]

Amazon is witnessing a change in the legal landscape. The platform today is largely unrecognizable from the one that launched in 1995. Much of its growth is attributed to Amazon’s third-party sellers, who are independent retailers who use Amazon’s platform to sell goods directly to consumers. The platform has witnessed an unprecedented rise in third-party […]

These days, it’s not enough to just have a website. With concerns about cybersecurity growing, a successful and effective website should include a Terms of Use agreement setting forth rules and rights to the user. In addition to boilerplate language standard of any Terms of Use agreement, certain provisions should be included to address concerns […]

In the age of the internet, the exponential growth of social media has opened up new channels for advertising beyond anything that had previously existed. In this expansion, the age of the influencer has descended upon internet culture, and brands have wasted no time in finding a foothold in this new manner of approaching their […]

New York has recently passed a law that says “no,” employers cannot engage in electronic monitoring of employee phone calls, emails, and online usage without notice. Further, employers are required to obtain an acknowledgement from workers that they received the notice. The new law was signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on November 8, […]

Despite more than two decades of efforts, computer and data storage breaches continue unabated. Washington State, for example, released annual statistics showing 280 data breaches in 2020 (including one breach that impacted more than a million customers) in Washington State alone. The report also detailed a large uptick in cyberattacks, and ransomware incidents. As a […]

Trade secrets are business information and data that derive economic value from the fact that they are kept confidential and secret. Under both federal and state laws, if an owner takes “reasonable” steps to protect the information/data, then legal action can be taken against anyone who steals — misappropriates — the information/data. Trade secrets can […]