Hogan Lovells-Authored Opinion Piece Examines Idea of Legally Restricting Sharing on Social Media

Chris explained the issue this way:

"Advocates of restrictions on frictionless sharing are concerned that Facebook users might inadvertently disclose through the automatic sharing tool that they watched a controversial movie, causing personal embarrassment. They propose that, as to movies only and as a matter of law, users must choose on a case-by-case basis what movies they want to post on Facebook."

But he concluded:

"A law limiting the ability of people to choose to share all of the movies they watch online is not what privacy law should be about. Privacy is about empowering individuals with the ability to choose what information they want to disclose, and to whom. It is not the business of privacy law to decide. "

And Chris explained:

"Of course, not everyone wants to share their viewing experiences with their friends online, and they don’t have to share. And if someone prefers to share their video watching experiences on a case-by-case basis, he or she can do so manually. Similarly, a person who chooses to share on a continuous basis can disable the share function before watching a streaming video that he or she wants to exclude from online posting.

As much as some senators may conclude that sharing all the movies you watch is TMI, the law should permit people to share as they choose, and companies should not face legal penalties for providing them with the choice."

The opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle follows Chris’ testimony earlier this year before the Senate Judiciary Privacy Subcommittee.

Authored by Christopher Wolf.