Legal Love Note đź’Ś social media legal issues & the subscription law


Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this email are “affiliate links.” That means if you click on a link and purchase the item, The CEO Legal Loft receives an affiliate commission. Please note, The CEO Legal Loft only recommends products or services that will add value to you. The CEO Legal Loft discloses this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.​

Social media has revolutionized the way businesses market their products and services, making it easier than ever to reach a wide audience quickly and effectively. However, with the rise of social media marketing comes a host of legal issues that entrepreneurs must be aware of to avoid running afoul of the law. From intellectual property infringement to misleading advertising, there are many potential pitfalls to navigate. Read on for the top 3 issues.

  1. Intellectual property infringement: Sharing content on social media can be a great way to market your business, but it's important to be aware of intellectual property rights. Sharing content that you don't have the rights to can result in legal issues such as copyright infringement or trademark infringement.
  2. Misleading advertising: Social media is a popular platform for advertising, but it's important to ensure that your ads are not misleading or deceptive. This can include making false claims about your product or service or using misleading images or testimonials.
  3. Giveaway regulations: Have you ever entered a giveaway on social media? They can be a fun way to promote a business and engage with customers, but there are some legal regulations that you need to be aware of to avoid any legal issues.
    ​
    For example, if you're running a giveaway, you may be required to provide certain disclosures about the giveaway, such as any limitations or restrictions. You may also need to obtain permits or licenses depending on the location and nature of the giveaway. This can include things like sweepstakes registration or permits for events that involve food or alcohol.
    ​
    It's important to make sure that you're following all of the relevant regulations and guidelines when running a giveaway. Failure to do so can result in legal issues and potentially even harm your business's reputation.

Action Tip: If you use user generated content, you can use your own hashtag to get implicit permission (e.g. "Tag us using #cllrocks"). But it's always best to get explicit permission by either DMing and asking or asking in the comments (e.g. This looks amazing, do you mind if we share it on our social media page? Respond with #yescll if it's ok).

🛍️ The Zara sale started a couple weeks ago. I didn't go crazy because I'm trying to limit my spending, so I got 2 pairs of jeans.

🍽️ I have a very weird quirk about me, I will only eat out of certain bowls, off certain types of plates, and certain type of silverware. Last week, I bought my favorite bowls and plates from Crate & Barrel. And they're super affordable!

Great resources to help your business + news

This month, a new law in California was put into effect. But this doesn't only affect California residents and businesses. This affects businesses who do business IN California. So if you have customers in California and have a membership or recurring subscription, this law applies to you.

On July 1, California updated the recurring subscription law:

Cancellation
​
Now, businesses have to make it really easy for you to cancel your subscription. They have to put a big button on their website that says "cancel" so you can find it easily. Or, they have to give you an email address that you can use to cancel your subscription. Either way, it has to be really easy for you to cancel and you should be able to do it right away.

Notice
​
The law also requires businesses to send a notice to consumers who sign up for trial periods that automatically convert to paid subscriptions or the price increases (if trial was a discounted rate).

This only applies to subscriptions that last for more than 31 days AND it's an initial free trial or trial at a discounted rate. If these are true, the business has to tell you in a notice that your subscription will automatically renew, how long the renewal will be for, how to cancel, and how to contact the business.

  • If your initial trial is for less than a year, they have to send you the notice between 3 and 21 days before your subscription renews.
  • If your initial trial lasts for a year or longer, the business has to send you this notice between 15 and 45 days before your subscription renews.

These rules are designed to make it easier for the subscriber to understand the subscription and to cancel it if you don't want it anymore.

Remember, this is for someone whose rate will increase after the trial. If someone gets this rate for the duration of the subscription, then this doesn't apply.

Did you know about this law? Should I do a deeper dive? Reply and let me know!

Here's what's you can look forward to at The CEO Legal Loft

Next week, my fellow colleague Tara, is opening up a new program, Launch It Like It's Hot, a complete set of launch templates and resources to help you launch, market, and sell your online course, membership, group coaching program, or digital product. I'll give you more info as it gets closer.

Enjoying these emails? đź’Ś

If you'd like to further support this free newsletter, we'd love if you... ⤵️

📱Screenshot something that will be helpful to your audience & share on IG stories tagging @thetrademarkattorney_

💌 Forward this letter to a friend letting them know they can sign up here​

đź’¸ Send a tip if you're feeling generous

​

Talk soon,

​

Michelle at The CEO Legal Loft

Hi, I'm Michelle, the owner of The CEO Legal Loft. The CEO Legal Loft simplifies legal compliance for online businesses with easy-to-use contract templates and legal resources.

Read more from Michelle at The CEO Legal Loft

As you know, tomorrow marks the first anniversary of The CEO Legal Loft's move to Shopify, and I couldn’t be more excited. It's been an incredible journey, and I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support. When I created The CEO Legal Loft, my mission was clear: to help online business owners like you be legally protected without breaking the bank. I saw so many entrepreneurs facing legal challenges and high costs, and I knew there had to be a better way. That's...

Over the past 2 years I've STRUGGLED with the decision of whether or not to stay on social media or just let it go. The struggle was so real because so much of my sales were coming directly from social media, and I was terrified to let it go. A couple of weeks ago as I was praying, the word REST kept running through my mind. It was like playing your favorite song on repeat. And for the first time in a long time, I decided to listen. So I stopped posting just to get something out there, and...

If you're not following me on IG, you probably don't know about my bingo card journey. At the beginning of 2023, I created a bingo card to tackle some goals this year. This week I've crossed off another goal! And that goal was to... create AND FINISH my first evergreen funnel! WOO-HOO! 🥳 If you're like me and have a hard time sticking to goals, I recommend the bingo card. I made mine inside of Canva. CLL Updates Some of the links below are affiliate links. That means I'll be paid a commission...