Major internet companies are joining a day of action to protest the Federal Communication Commission and its planned decision to eliminate Obama-era net neutrality regulations.

Amazon, Etsy, and Kickstarter are just some of the 52 companies and organizations that are participating in this internet-wide event on July 12. It’s being hosted by advocacy groups Fight for the Future, Freepress Action Fund, and Demand Progress. Other notable participants include Vimeo, Reddit, and Mozilla, creator of the Firefox Web Browser.

Not much information is available on what will exactly happen on the day of the protest on the event’s site, only that more details will be sent out to participants who join the mailing list as the day approaches. However, the website does promise to “make it easy for your followers / visitors to take action” in the protest.

Net neutrality is the idea that internet providers should treat all online traffic equally. Current FCC policy (Title II of the Telecommunications Act) regulates broadband providers to ensure that indiscriminate services are being provided to the public at large. In other words, the FCC is currently making sure that your Netflix streams are not being slowed down because your provider has a deal with Hulu.

President Donald Trump’s newly appointed FCC chair, Ajit Pai, promised last year to take a “weed whacker” to the internet regulations set up during Obama Administration. Pai, along with the rest of the FCC’s Republican majority, said in the agency’s open meeting that the current rules stifle creativity and prevent internet providers from trying innovative ways to make money in a digital world.

Member companies of the Internet and Television Association have stated that they support the idea of net neutrality, but would  prefer the federal government not be the body that enforces it. But companies that are actually based online have a much different opinion on the matter.

“Net neutrality made it possible for Vimeo, along with countless other startups, to innovate and thrive,” said Michael Cheah, general counsel of Vimeo, in a statement. “The FCC’s proposed rollback of the 2015 open internet rules threatens to impede that innovation and allow a handful of incumbent ISPs to determine winners and losers.”

This is not the first time internet companies have chosen to stand up to threats against net neutrality. Google, Netflix, and Twitter protested in similar fashion back in 2014 in support of reclassifying broadband services under Title II regulations. Since then, the rules have faced many challenges in court but have yet to be overturned.

As for Pai, this will be the second large-scale act of protest his commission will face this year. Comedian, and host of “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver encouraged his viewers in May to comment on the FCC proposal that would dismantle Title II regulations. The resulting traffic crashed the commission’s site.

Gabe Fernandez

Gabe is an editorial intern at Law Street. He is a Peruvian-American Senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double degree in Multiplatform Journalism and Marketing. In his free time, he can be found photographing concerts, running around the city, and supporting Manchester United. Contact Gabe at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Amazon, Etsy, and Kickstarter Headline Net Neutrality Protest appeared first on Law Street.

A fight is brewing between law enforcement officials and Facebook, and it’s just gotten some new players in the form of other social media companies. New York City has been trying to use evidence posted on Facebook as proof of fraud committed by government employees. The city has now run afoul of some of the largest social network companies, who are arguing that the actions taken by the NYPD and prosecutors are violating their users’ Fourth Amendment rights.

It all started when the NYPD discovered that a number of government employees–including fireman, police officers, and others–had been taking disability payments without actually being disabled. Evidence of their fraud came from their Facebook accounts–some of the employees supposedly on disability were also engaging in clearly strenuous physical activities during the same time period. There were also private messages sent through the social network in which the alleged fraudsters admitted to their wrongdoing.

The investigators got a warrant to search the Facebook accounts of the employees that they thought were breaking the law, as well as accounts of their families, friends, and other acquaintances. While they did eventually succeed, it was only after Facebook argued strongly against the investigation. Facebook claimed that the search of private accounts is “unreasonable” and skirts Fourth Amendment protections. The company is now filing an appeal making the same argument–and they’ve got some friends backing them up. Foursquare, Kickstarter, MeetUp, and Tumblr have all decided to stand with Facebook. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the New York Civil Liberties Union will also be getting involved.

This case is yet another example of how the intersection between new technology and existing laws can get quite messy. The warrant originally requested by the NYPD involved a grand total of 381 Facebook accounts–many of which were only connected tangentially. The requested accounts had interacted with those of the accused–nothing more. Facebook argued that the search of those 381 accounts was tantamount to searching roughly 400 homes. That argument is fair, but a bit stretched. If there was a crime committed, the NYPD would have the right to search 400 houses, as long as they could prove it was reasonable.

In response, Facebook’s Deputy Chief Counsel Chris Sonderby argued,

It appeared to us from the outset that there would be a large number of people who were never charged in court. The district attorney’s response was that these people would have their day in court. There are more than 300 people that will never have that chance.

But according to NYPD and prosecutors, they did just that–they provided almost 100 pages of documentation explaining why they were searching each account when they requested the warrant.

There’s also the question of what right Facebook has to the accounts in their system. They challenged the warrant on behalf of their clients, and there’s a lot of legal ambiguity as to whether they were able to do so. They most certainly could not have alerted their clients that they were being investigated–that would have been impeding an investigation. Facebook claims that this created a big problem for their attorneys–they couldn’t do anything to stop it on their clients’ behalf, and they couldn’t do anything to warn their customers to get them involved.

The fact that other social networks have now said they’re going to join this legal fight will go a long way. As electronic communications become more and more popular, existing laws may not be able to keep up. While the collective action of social media companies may be forming a powerful lobby, whether or not their arguments for privacy and Fourth Amendment rights will prevail is up to the appeals court.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Nick Booth via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Social Media Search Warrant Fight Heats Up appeared first on Law Street.

When you decide to start a business, you need to get all of your ducks in a row. Financially. Mentally. And legally.

The JOBs Act has helped a lot of new businesses sprout up over the last year, and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have proven to be the catalyst that a lot of budding entrepreneurs needed. Crowdfunding and earlier access to funding is making it easier for people (especially young people) to start their dream of being self-employed sooner than ever before.

While all of this new business development is lubricating our economy, creating opportunities for employment, and adding to the overall landscape of innovation and creativity, it is also raising legal questions.  As I’ve touched on previously, the SEC has gone through many adjustments and set in place regulations to protect both the entrepreneur and the investor.

Here’s a list of the most recent crowdfunding regulations (thanks, Forbes!).

• The amount an issuer can raise is capped at $1 million in any 12-month period.
• The amount a person can invest in all crowdfundings over a 12-month period is capped at 10 percent of annual income or net worth (incomes of $100,000 or more) or the greater of $2,000 or five percent of annual income or net worth (incomes of less than $100,000).
• Crowdfunding must be done through a registered broker-dealer or registered “funding portal.” Broker-dealers and funding portals may not solicit investments, offer investment advice or compensate employees based on sales. Traditional investment banks have shown little interest in crowdfunding, leading to speculation that crowdfunding will be facilitated by lesser-known financial institutions with little or no retail investment track record.
• Crowdfunding requires a disclosure document to be filed with the SEC at least 21 days prior to first sale, and requires scaled financial disclosure, including audited financial statements for raises of more than $500,000.
• Unlike Regulation D Rule 506 private placements to accredited investors following the JOBS Act, crowdfunding does not allow advertising except solely to direct investors to the appropriate broker/funding portal.
• Annual reports must be filed with the SEC by a company which completes a crowdfunding round.

Law firms specializing in business law need to accommodate the new influx of startups and stay up to date on the ever-changing and developing market, and I can’t stress enough the importance of speaking to someone who knows the exact you need to take. Startups have high risk potential, so it’s important that when presenting your idea to investors or to future clients you have everything organized appropriately. Many law firms, such as Manhattan’s Cohen Schneider & O’Neill, are taking note of the new potential market opportunities. One of this firm’s main areas of focus is on entrepreneurship and startups, for which they offer a comprehensive package for those ready to venture out on their own. For example, they can help the budding entrepreneur with particulars such as: required document preparation in the appropriate jurisdiction; compliance requirements and training, drafting and executing bylaws, resolutions, and stock issuance; tax ID registration; as well as brainstorming and consultations with a legal startup team.

So, basically, although things are getting easier in the market for new businesses, you still need to lawyer up, because it’s never easy when things aren’t done by the books. Save yourself some time and lots of money and take care of the legalities before you finish designing your logo.

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is a PR & Media Outreach Manager. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post Have a Great Startup Idea? Find a Good Legal Team First appeared first on Law Street.

A few years ago, the only way you could watch a TV program was to catch it when it was being aired. Then we got DVR, and then there were shows available online on demand; and now we have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and thousands of other (legal and illegal) ways to get our fix. And in so many ways, the Internet has completely revolutionized the way we watch TV. Because for a lot of us, TV isn’t contained to a physical television anymore. In fact, I, for the first time in about 3.5 years actually have a real, concrete television in my apartment. It only has the most basic of cable, but I often forget it’s there, because I’m so used to watching any and all TV programming on my computer.

So here are 4 different ways that the Internet has revolutionized TV…and whether these changes are good or bad.

4. We have an ability to find old shows that are new to us. 

Before this weird meld of Internet and TV, the only way to discover a show that was off the air was to catch reruns. Growing up, I watched plenty of shows this way, but they were often out of order, disjointed, and difficult to follow. The Internet allows us to watch a show from the beginning, even if it hasn’t aired on TV in any capacity in years. For example, my freshman year of college, most of my roommates and I got really into The West Wing. It had originally aired 1999-2006, so given that I was in middle school at the time, it obviously hadn’t caught my attention. And it’s not just my friends–when both House of Cards and Scandal began airing, I heard them compared to the incredibly idealistic liberal love letter that is The West Wing by other college students. Tons of political junkies my age are discovering the show that we were just a few years too young for when it originally aired. A couple days ago, The Wire did a “best fictional president” bracket in honor of the West Wing, and of course, President Jed Bartlett won it. I’m betting the reason that The West Wing remains in our memory and is still so regularly referenced is because the Internet allows new watchers to discover it whenever they want, in fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still streaming on Netflix. 

Good or Bad? Good. Finding a show that speaks to your interests is a great thing. Now my West Wing example is incredibly silly, I know, but I’ve absolutely used common interest in that show as a conversation topic before in my daily life. Most of my friends have seen it, and it’s just another thing that connects us. TV, for better or worse, plays a large part in our lives, and it’s pretty cool that the Internet has opened us up to shows from before our time. This doesn’t extend purely to shows that are before our time, this also allows us to see shows from other countries that usually wouldn’t make it to our TVs, which is also pretty cool!

3. Shows made exclusively for Netflix and other online networks. 

This is also an incredibly recent phenomenon. In the past two years or so, Netflix has released a number of original series. The two most well known are probably House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, but there are a few others, including Hemlock Grove, and Lilyhammer, and there are also exclusive documentaries and stand-up comedy shows. These are high quality shows, and because they aren’t airing on TV, Netflix can afford to be risqué. This year, Netflix made history by being the first non-TV network to win an Emmy. Netflix isn’t the only Internet network to create their own content, though they are probably the most critically acclaimed and well-known. Amazon Prime and Hulu have also started producing their own content.

Good or bad? Good. More quality content is good for the viewers, to be sure, and it opens up opportunities for more experimental shows that networks may not want to chance, given that the content is less severely constrained by broadcasting. Television networks are complaining that it’s cutting into their viewership, but hopefully the competition will force them to up their game. After all, do we really need another “Real Housewives of ______” show?

Sheldon doesn’t think so.

2. The Veronica Mars Kickstarter and Arrested Development Relaunch. 

I will unabashedly admit that Veronica Mars and Arrested Development are arguably two of my favorite shows ever. In some ways, they have a similar story–they were both cult favorites with high critical ratings but pretty low viewership. They both got cancelled after three seasons. And they both got a final hurrah in the last year–Arrested Development through a Netflix original fourth season, and Veronica Mars through a full length movie that was released late last week. I, like so many other fans, anticipated the extensions to both of these shows with bated breath.

The relaunch of these two shows is a testament to the seductive power of creating a product for fans. Netflix took a chance on Arrested Development, to be sure, but it was surely backed up by data. Netflix doesn’t release viewership figures, but they must have seen something in the data about the first 3 seasons previously available on the site to make them think that a 4th season would be profitable. A lot of people didn’t actually end up liking the 4th season much, myself included, but the fact that it was even undertaken in the first place says a lot about the lobbying power of fans.

The Veronica Mars is a more perfect example of my point. The movie was primarily funded by a Kickstarter campaign, run by the stars of the show and creator Rob Thomas. The Kickstarter reached $5.7 million in pledges from fans. The fans of the show literally paid to have this movie made–that’s how passionate the fan base is. Those who contributed certain amounts got perks too–like small extra roles, or online access to the movie. The film has gotten mixed reviews (I, for one, loved it!) but the launch has reprised a lot of discussions about how before-it’s-time the show was, like this one about rape culture  or this one about social class. My point is though, that TV is more influenced by fans than ever before.

Good or bad? Both. I loved that both these shows got their much-needed endings, but there is something to be said for letting sleeping dogs lie. The Veronica Mars movie was, in my opinion, good, the Arrested Development season 4 was bad. You know when a kid wants candy and you give it to them and then they get sick from too much sugar? Catering to fans’ whims has the potential to end up like that, and networks need to watch out for being too responsive to fan requests.  

 1. The phenomenon of “binge watching.”

Binge watching is new, created by the ability to access shows online with the internet. Binge watching is defined as 2-6 episodes of one show in a sitting. The only precursor was perhaps the TV marathon, but I don’t really think that counts because even in a marathon, the TV network still did stop airing the marathon at some point. 

We now have the ability to sit on our asses and watch a show for as long as we please. I am absolutely being a gigantic hypocrite right now, because I have totally binge watched quite a few shows, but I am trying to make some effort to stop. Binge watching is when you let Netflix play until the wee hours of the morning, watching a show until it really barely makes sense anymore. It’s when you get that immediate gratification of watching the next episode instead of actually thinking about what you just watched. Roughly 61% of respondents to a Netflix Survey last year say they regularly binge watch. 

Good or bad? Guys, I’ve got to think this is a bad thing. First, I have binge watched many a show that I can barely remember the next day. It’s impossible to thoroughly pay attention to anything that long, at least with the kind of attention that allows you to appropriately appreciate the show. It takes away the ability to talk about the show with your friends and coworkers the next day the way you can when the show is aired once a week on a network. And finally, as big a fan as I am of TV, that’s just too much. So here’s a suggestion–go ahead and binge-watch, in moderation. But take some time to appreciate what you’re watching. And remember, things are changing about TV and you don’t want it all to pass you by because you can’t stop watching House of Cards.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured Image Courtesy: [Flickr/Wesley Fryer]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Meld of Internet and TV…Good or Bad? appeared first on Law Street.

Last year, when actor Zach Braff  launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for his movie, Wish I Was Here, it made the headlines. Some people couldn’t wrap their heads around giving funds to a guy who is already better off than the majority of us, but Braff quickly responded that that isn’t the point behind a crowdfunding effort.

Now Braff’s campaign is in the news again. The movie premiered at Sundance over the weekend to an enthusiastic audience. Fans cheered when the credits rolled and the 46,520 Kickstarter backers were listed. Within 24 hours of the film’s debut, Focus Features acquired it for about $2.75 million. In the indie movie arena, that fee would usually be used to repay the financial backers of the project; however, that is not the case for Braff’s Kickstarter campaign.

Producer Stacey Sher assured backers that they will be getting everything that they were promised upfront, though not reimbursed for the donations they made. The backers allegedly seem fine with this arrangement. The production team is keeping the promised schedule of meet and greets, showings, and paraphernalia. Before anything else, Sher says that they are committed to print t-shirts for and schedule visits with the film’s supporters.

So, is this fair? Yes. They are keeping their commitments and being consistent with their word. Though not traditional, this might be the new normal. This situation is another example of how crowdfunding and new ways of garnering investments are navigated. The Security and Exchange Commission is still orchestrating the logistics and legalities of exactly where The JOBS Act, micro-financing, and crowdfunding leaves investors. What does this mean in the long run? It means that rules are changing. Traditions are evolving. It means, though, that when you venture down this slightly less traveled terrain, you have to be all that more careful about specifying your promises and making sure to proceed with honesty to completion. Sher stated that a crowdfunding effort like Braff’s “is not to be entered into without a very serious commitment to your backers, and an understanding that these people are your champions, your cheerleaders, and your market.”

Courtesy of Mathieu Marquer via Flickr.

Don’t worry, Zach! We still heart you. Thanks for the t-shirts!

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post I Helped Kickstart Zach Braff’s Movie and All I Got Is a Lousy T-Shirt appeared first on Law Street.