Jeffrey Neuburger

Partner

Jeffrey Neuburger is a partner, co-head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group, a member of the Privacy & Cybersecurity Group and editor of the firm’s New Media and Technology Law blog.

Jeff’s practice focuses on technology, media and advertising-related business transactions and counseling, including the utilization of emerging technology and distribution methods in business. For example, Jeff represents clients in online strategies associated with advertising, products, services and content commercialized on the Internet through broadband channels, mobile platforms, broadcast and cable television distribution and print publishing. He also represents many organizations in large infrastructure-related projects, such as outsourcing, technology acquisitions, cloud computing initiatives and related services agreements.

Serving as a collaborative business partner through our clients’ biggest challenges, Jeff is part of the Firm’s cross-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Coronavirus Response Team helping to shape the guidance and next steps for clients impacted by the pandemic.

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Facebook Brings Suit against Developers of a Browser Extension That Harvested User Data

In continuing its efforts to enforce its terms and policies against developers that engage in unauthorized scraping of user data, this week Facebook brought suit against two marketing analytics firms, BrandTotal Ltd (“BrandTotal”) and Unimania, Inc. (“Unimania”) (collectively, the “Defendants”) (Facebook, Inc. v. BrandTotal Ltd., No. 20Civ04246 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Mateo Cty Filed Oct. … Continue Reading

DOJ Submits CDA Reform Proposal to Congress to Curtail Protections for Online Platforms

By Jeffrey Neuburger on October 1, 2020 Posted in Internet, Legislation, Online Commerce, Online Content, Social Media

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230 (“Section 230” or the “CDA”), enacted in 1996, is generally viewed as the most important statute supporting the growth of Internet commerce. The key provision of the CDA, Section 230(c)(1)(a), only 26 words long, simply states: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service … Continue Reading

Thoughtful Presentations of Terms of Use Crucial for Enforceability

By Jeffrey Neuburger on September 14, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Internet, Mobile, Online Commerce

Many online services feature comprehensive terms of use intended to protect their business from various types of risks. While it is often the case that a great deal of thought goes into the creation of those terms, frequently less attention is paid to how those terms are actually presented to users of the service. As … Continue Reading

Financial Data Aggregator Faces Consumer Privacy Suit over “Surreptitious” Collection of Banking Information

By Jeffrey Neuburger on August 31, 2020 Posted in Mobile, Online Commerce, Privacy

Last week, a putative privacy-related class action was filed in California district court against financial analytics firm Envestnet, Inc. (“Envestnet”), which operates Yodlee, Inc. (“Yodlee”). (Wesch v. Yodlee Inc., No. 20-05991 (N.D. Cal. filed Aug. 25, 2020)). According to the complaint, Yodlee is one of the largest financial data aggregators in the world and through … Continue Reading

Eclipsed by Evolving Law, Policy and Technology, Seminal Mobile Location Data Case Settled

By Jeffrey Neuburger on August 18, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Mobile, Privacy

This past week, the operator of the popular Weather Channel (“TWC”) mobile phone app entered into a Stipulation of Settlement with the Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer (“City Attorney”), closing the books on one of the first litigations to focus on the collection of locational data through mobile phones. (People v. TWC Product and … Continue Reading

Commerce Dept. Petitions FCC to Issue Rules Clarifying CDA Section 230

By Jeffrey Neuburger on July 30, 2020 Posted in Internet, Online Commerce, Online Content, Regulatory, Social Media

The currents around the Communications Decency Act just got a little more turbulent as the White House and executive branch try to reel in the big fish of CDA reform. On July 27, 2020, the Commerce Department submitted a petition requesting the FCC initiate a rulemaking to clarify the provisions of Section 230 of the … Continue Reading

hiQ Files Opposition Brief with Supreme Court in LinkedIn CFAA Data Scraping Dispute

By Jeffrey Neuburger on June 29, 2020 Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Online Content, Screen Scraping, Social Media

Last week, hiQ Labs, Inc. (“hiQ”) filed its brief urging the Supreme Court to deny LinkedIn Corp.’s (“LinkedIn”) petition for a writ of certiorari in the Ninth Circuit’s blockbuster ruling in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., 938 F.3d 985 (9th Cir. 2019). The principal issue in the case concerns the scope of Computer Fraud and Abuse … Continue Reading

The Communication Decency Act and the DOJ’s Proposed Solution: No Easy Answers

By Jeffrey Neuburger on June 19, 2020 Posted in Internet, Online Content, Social Media

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”), 47 U.S.C. §230, enacted in 1996, is often cited as the most important law supporting the Internet, e-commerce and the online economy. Yet, it continues to be subject to intense criticism, including from politicians from both sides of the aisle. Many argue that the CDA has been … Continue Reading

Wholesale Scraping of “Public” Data May Be Trade Secret Misappropriation

By Jeffrey Neuburger on June 17, 2020 Posted in Licensing, Online Content, Screen Scraping, Software, Trade Secrets

In what could be prove to be an important decision within the context of scraping of “public” data, in a recent case the Eleventh Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of trade secret claims relating to the scraping of insurance quotes. (Compulife Software, Inc. v. Newman, No. 18-12004 (11th Cir. May 20, 2020)). The appellate … Continue Reading

President Signs Executive Order Directing Agencies to Probe the Contours of CDA Immunity

By Jeffrey Neuburger on May 28, 2020 Posted in Online Content, Regulatory, Social Media

President Trump signed an Executive Order today attempting to curtail legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230” or the “CDA”). The Executive Order strives to clarify that Section 230 immunity “should not extend beyond its text and purpose to provide protection for those who purport to provide users a forum … Continue Reading

French Data Protection Authority Speaks to Web Scraping

By Jeffrey Neuburger on May 14, 2020 Posted in Online Content, Privacy, Screen Scraping

Late last month, the French data protection authority, the CNIL, published guidance surrounding considerations behind what it calls “commercial prospecting,” meaning scraping publicly available website data to obtain individuals’ contact info for purposes of selling such data to third parties for direct marketing purposes. The guidance is noteworthy in two respects. First, it speaks to … Continue Reading

Protecting Business Information Assets in the “Work From Home” Environment

By Jeffrey Neuburger on May 12, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Data Security, E-mail, Electronic Records, Mobile

This past March, many organizations were forced to suddenly pivot to a “work from home” environment (“WFH”) as COVID-19 spread across our country. However, many companies did not have the necessary technical infrastructure in place to support their full workforce on a WFH basis. Often, remote access systems were configured assuming only a portion of … Continue Reading

Important Developments (Including Supreme Court Review) in the Interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

By Jeffrey Neuburger on April 22, 2020 Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Contracts, Screen Scraping

We continue to wait to see if the Supreme Court will accept LinkedIn’s petition to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s blockbuster ruling in the hiQ Labs case. In that case, the appeals court held that an entity engaging in scraping of “public” data had shown a likelihood of success on its claim that such access does … Continue Reading

Open COVID Pledge Rolled Out to Make Patents and Other IP Available for COVID-19 Response

By Jeffrey Neuburger on April 21, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Copyright, Licensing, Open Source, Software

In an innovative initiative in the battle against the Coronavirus, the newly-formed Open COVID Coalition (the “Coalition”) launched the Open COVID Pledge (the “Pledge”), a framework for organizations to contribute intellectual property to the fight against COVID-19. Pursuant to the Pledge, rightsholders can openly license intellectual property to facilitate the development of tools and technologies … Continue Reading

Cluttered User Registration Screens Challenge Enforceability of Site Terms

By Jeffrey Neuburger on April 8, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Internet, Online Commerce

In recent years, courts have issued a host of rulings as to whether online or mobile users received adequate notice of and consented to user agreements or website terms when completing an online purchase or registering for a service. Some online agreements have been enforced, while others have not. In each case, judges have examined … Continue Reading

Work-Outs of Technology and Services Agreements Challenged by COVID-19

By Jeffrey Neuburger on April 7, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Licensing, Software, Technology

In early February 2020, before most of us were truly aware of the implications of COVID-19, a well-respected IT consulting group predicted a $4.3 trillion global spend on information technology in 2020. Drivers of the projected activity included cybersecurity, outdated infrastructure, mobile accessibility needs, cloud and SaaS transitions, and on-premises technology requirements. In late 2019, … Continue Reading

Washington Governor Signs Bill Addressing Government Use of Facial Recognition Technology

By Jeffrey Neuburger on April 2, 2020 Posted in Biometrics, Legislation, Privacy, Technology

While Washington’s comprehensive data privacy bill (SB 6182) — inspired by California’s CCPA — died when legislators could not hammer out a compromise over enforcement mechanisms, the state legislature did reach agreement and Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a facial recognition bill (SB 6280) that provides some important privacy and antidiscrimination provisions regarding state … Continue Reading

Will the Role of Facial Recognition Grow in a Post-COVID-19 World?

By Jeffrey Neuburger on March 31, 2020 Posted in Biometrics, Privacy, Technology

An interesting New York Times article last week posited that governments’ use of digital surveillance techniques for the COVID-19 response – such as the tracking of geolocation to gauge quarantine restrictions – would lead to more pervasive digital tracking in the future. On a related note, there have been reports of an increased use of … Continue Reading

FTC Paid Endorser Settlement Sets Framework for Advertiser Best Practices

By Jeffrey Neuburger on March 30, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Internet, Online Commerce, Social Media

Teami, LLC (“Teami”), a marketer of teas and skincare products, agreed to settle FTC charges alleging that its retained social media influencers did not sufficiently disclose that they were being paid to promote Teami’s products. The FTC’s Complaint also included allegations that Teami made unsupported weight-loss and health claims about its products, an issue that … Continue Reading

LinkedIn Files Petition to the Supreme Court in hiQ Web Scraping Case

By Jeffrey Neuburger on March 11, 2020 Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Internet, Online Content, Screen Scraping, Social Media

This past week, LinkedIn filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s blockbuster ruling in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., 938 F.3d 985 (9th Cir. 2019). The case concerned the scope of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) liability associated with web scraping of publicly … Continue Reading

Protecting against Cybersecurity Threats when Working from Home

By Jeffrey Neuburger, Ryan Blaney and Kevin Milewski on March 11, 2020 Posted in Data Security, Internet

With the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), many organizations are requiring or permitting employees to work remotely. This post is intended to remind employers and employees that in the haste to implement widespread work-from-home strategies, data security concerns cannot be forgotten. Employers and employees alike should remain vigilant of increased cybersecurity threats, some of … Continue Reading

Coronavirus and the “100% Work-From-Home” Scenario: Review Agreements with Vendors of Remote Access Technology

By Jeffrey Neuburger on March 9, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Software, Technology

As part of the response to the outbreak of COVID-19, many organizations are working on contingency and business continuity plans that include an all-employee “work-from-home” scenario. If it becomes necessary to implement such a plan, all employees of the organization will access the organization’s networks and systems remotely. Unfortunately, many organizations that are testing these … Continue Reading