Tag: periscope

  • Periscope Summit Recap

    My Badge from Periscope Community Summit - September 2015
    My Badge from Periscope Community Summit – September 2015

    I had the pleasure of being on a panel with Mitch Jackson to discuss the legalities of live-streaming video apps at the Periscope Community Summit last week in New York. We had a blast. Special thanks to the organizers of this event.

    The Periscope user community is so friendly and accepting. I hope we’re invited back to the next Periscope Community Summit in San Francisco this winter. Here are some of the take-away lessons from our panel:

    There is No “Undo” Button. Unlike other social media platforms where you can edit your work before you release it, Periscope videos are live. If you are someone who tends to embellish, be excessively emotional, or otherwise get carried away, perhaps you shouldn’t ‘scope without thinking your ideas through. Because once you put something out there, you can’t take it back and you may not be able to apologize your problems away.

    It’s Probably Illegal to ‘Scope that Concert. Many artists don’t allow photos or videos during their shows. This also applies to Periscope and other live video apps. Ditto for professional sports. Read the back of your ticket carefully and be prepared to be kicked out if you do it.

    Be Careful if you do Karaoke on your ‘Scope. It seems like a lot of people sing when they are on Periscope, whether they are singing to a backing track or along with a song. When you buy a CD or an mp3 of a song, you are usually making a purchase for individual use and enjoyment. If you play that song on Periscope, you’ve created a public performance, which usually requires a separate license. If you use Periscope to promote yourself as a musician and you’re doing covers, you should look into buying a license from the appropriate source like BMI or ASCAP.

    Playing Clips with Commentary is Probably Ok. If you review books, music, movies, and/or video games on your ‘Scope and you want to play audio or video clips of whatever you’re reviewing, that’s likely permissible under the fair use provision of the Copyright Law. This is particularly true if you’re adding your original thoughts on the topic and you aren’t a substitute for the media you’re discussing.

    A Word of Warning: Whoever owns the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to decide where and when the work will be copied, distributed, displayed, and performed. If they suspect that you are violating their rights on your ‘Scope, they will decide if and how they will lay the smack down on you for violating their rights. This could be anything from a cease and desist letter to a lawsuit in federal court.

    As always, these are my two rules of thumb for staying out of trouble on the internet:

    1. Don’t post anything online that you wouldn’t put on the front page of the newspaper.
    2. Assume that everything you post or broadcast online will be seen by four people: your best friend, your worst enemy, your boss, and your mother. If you don’t want one of those people to see what you’re thinking about posting, don’t share it (regardless of your privacy settings).

    If you want to know more about the legalities of streaming your life on the internet, please check out this post I wrote about the law and Periscope. If you want a resource that addresses the broader issues of how the law applies to all social media, please check out The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed. If you want to chat with me about a specific question related to copyright or internet law, you can contact me directly or connect with me on TwitterFacebookYouTube, or LinkedIn.

  • The Dark Side of Periscope

    Mirror Image by The Joneses from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
    Mirror Image by The Joneses from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    I was on Periscope the other night, talking with people about the legal implications of using live video apps, when an awful thought struck me:

    You know someone is going to use Periscope for evil.

    I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that sometime (probably soon) someone is going to use Periscope or a similar app to share a live broadcast of a suicide, sexual assault, or other equally horrendous activity.

    I hate that horrible things like this happen and that anyone might think that it’s a good idea to broadcast it to the entire internet-accessible world. I also hate how powerless I am to stop these people from doing things like this. It’s like a train wreck, and I see it coming but because I don’t know when or where it will happen, there is almost nothing I can do to stop it.

    The only thing I can think to do is create a post like this that will hopefully raise people’s awareness so that if you see a bad act in the works and you are in the position to take an action to stop or prevent it, please please please do it. Do not stand idly by when there’s a chance that you could prevent harm to another.

    If you see a crime being committed on a live video app, report it immediately to the administrators of the app and as well as law enforcement. If you don’t know where the act is taking place, report it to the FBI.

    Two of the reasons I became a lawyer are I like to help people and I like to solve problems. It’s so frustrating to find myself in situations where I feel like there’s nothing I can do to help a situation.

    Part of being a social media lawyer means I have to keep up on what people are doing online and could be doing online. The downside of this is I have to think about these worst-case scenarios and accept that it’s more likely than not that at least one of them will come to fruition.

    I am watching the legal issues with Periscope, Meerkat, and similar apps closely. If you want to talk more about internet or social media law, please contact me or connect with me on TwitterFacebookYouTube, or LinkedIn.

  • Legal Issues with Periscope

    Vents by SecretLondon123 from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
    Vents by SecretLondon123 from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    Have you tried Periscope? It’s one of the new live streaming apps where you can let everyone into your world and they can post comments and questions. I’m on it. It’s pretty fun – except when it overheats my phone.

    Of course, being a social media lawyer, I started thinking about what types of legal hot water someone could get into using this or any other live video app. Here’s my preliminary list:

    Copyright
    You own the content you post via Periscope, but you grant Periscope and anyone who has access to it permission to use it.

    An artist may be upset with you if you use Periscope to display, distribute, or perform their work without their permission – i.e., if you’re playing someone’s song, doing a dramatic (or not so dramatic) reading, or showing someone’s art (even with an attribution).

    Trademark
    If you’re using Periscope to talk about products, make sure you’re not confusing people by giving the impression that you represent the company.

    Federal Trade Commission Rules
    If you are lucky enough to have sponsorship or otherwise be compensated for reviewing products, make sure you disclose that too. If you’re doing reviews on periscope, you’re legally required only to give truthful and accurate reviews of products and services. Otherwise, the FTC could fine you up to $11,000.

    Trade Secrets
    Every company has secrets that give them a competitive advantage. Make sure you don’t accidentally disclose your company secrets on your videos.

    Privacy
    Although there is no expectation of privacy in anything you do in public, there are a few exceptions for bathrooms, changing rooms, medical offices, lawyers’ offices, as well as within the walls of your home. Be thoughtful and respect full when it comes to shooting videos of others.

    Remember, you have no expectation of privacy in anything you post online.  Just like people have been fired for other social media posts, you can be fired for a Periscope video. You could also do tremendous reputational harm to yourself.

    Defamation
    I can foresee people using Periscope to vent when they are angry. Be careful that you don’t cross the line and tell a lie about another person. Even if you didn’t intend to tell a lie, you could still face a lawsuit for defamation. If you are especially upset, it may be best to wait 24 hours to calm down and verify your information before talking about the situation on live video. Think before you speak.

    These legal issues apply to all live streaming video apps so be careful before you jump on your virtual soapbox. The FCC does not regulate online streaming video, so there are no “deadly words,” but there are also no 7-second delays or buttons to bleep you out.

    These are my rules of thumb when it comes to posting anything on the internet:

    1. Don’t post anything online that you wouldn’t put on the front page of the newspaper.
    2. Assume everything you post will be seen by four people: your best friend, your worst enemy, your boss, and your mother. If you don’t want to one of those people to see what you’re thinking about posting, don’t say it.

    This is an area of law that is still new and developing. I’m excited and curious to see what legal cases will come out of live video apps like Periscope and Meerkat. If you want additional information about the legalities of social media, please check out my book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed. You can also contact me directly or connect with me on TwitterFacebookYouTube, or LinkedIn.