See No Evil: Study Says Judges Don't Find Jurors Using Social Media

cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)

The Federal Judicial Center has released a study which concludes that "detected social media use by jurors is infrequent, and that most judges have taken steps to ensure jurors do not use social media in the courtroom," and implies that juror use of the Internet and social media during trial is not a growing problem.
Alison Frankel of Thompson-Reuters is skeptical about this conclusion, and I agree with her.

Another Challenge for the FTC

The New York Times reports that a retailer of cases for the Kindle Fire offered customers a complete refund to purchasers in return for a posting a review on Amazon about the product.

Now, You Can Worry

cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)

A few weeks ago, I wrote that bloggers should not be too concerned about a decision by a federal judge in Oregon that blogger Crystal Cox is was not protected by Oregon's reporters' shield law in a defamation suit. But a new decision in Illinois reaching the same conclusion is more problematic.

FTC Punts Again

Just before the holidays, a post on the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection Business blog highlighted a staff letter announcing a decision to not pursue charges against Hyundai Motor America over a campaign in which bloggers were offered gift certificates for linking to the company's videos or commenting on its Superbowl ads, without telling the bloggers that they are required to disclose the incentives under the Commission's "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."