Lawrence G. Walters's Answers

My Facebook account was shut down by Facebook

Facebook has essentially limitless power to decide who can use their services, as a private business. The previous answer identifies the potential bases on which FB can terminate your membership. Litigating against them is a losing proposition, in most instances, so you'd be best to try to start a dialogue with them about reopening your account, if you can convince a customer service representative to respond.

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Do I need to get an attorney involved?

You have broad Free Speech rights to make comments about other people on social networking sites. Usually, these comments involve matters of opinion, which are not subject to defamation claims. Google the "Streisand Effect" if you want to learn about a good strategy in responding to this attorney letter. If you can't afford an attorney, or want to learn more about defending yourself in this situation, contact the Citizens Media Law Project; www.citmedialaw.org. So long as you did not make...

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INCORPORATING AN INTERNET BUSINESS

You can incorporate your business in any state, and the corporate laws of each state vary. Some clients choose to incorporate in states which allow more privacy for those involved with the corporation. An attorney can help you decide where to incorporate. You might also consider diversifying your risks by forming an Intellectual Property holding company that owns all domain names, trademarks and copyrights associated with the enterprise, and a separate company to operate the online business....

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How do I begin an internet based store only (no physical location) in Texas that will sell cosmetics and spa products?

In addition to the licensing issues, it is important that you draft online agreements addressing use of the site by customers, and the potential purchases/refunds. You should also create a privacy policy. Finally, you should consider copyrighting any expressive elements of your site, and potentially trademarking your brand name, to deal with future cybersquatting and piracy issues. Best of luck in your online business.

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My ex is posting nudes pics of me on twitter and facebook

This is a common concern on this board. Essentially, you have two potential legal claims against the poster - violation of your right of privacy (if the images were taken without your knowledge or consent), and violation of your right of publicity (if the images were published without your consent). Since nudity is prohibited on FB and Twitter, you should be able to report the images to the abuse department of these sites, and get them taken down. If you own the copyright to the images (i.e....

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What should I do about Mugshot.com?

The operation of mugshot.com (or mugshots.com) is likely protected by the First Amendment, since the information contained on the site is public record. These sites will often charge to remove the material from their site. While this practice upsets those affected, it is again probably legal since the site can make decisions as to which mugshots to include, and which to remove. This is simply the cost of living in the Information Age, when public information is readily available.

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Can i post a sextape online of me and my ex that i made and she willingly took part in and was aware of.

Noting the wisdom of the previous common-sense based questions, the answer to your legal question is that you'd potentially be breaking laws dealing with the right of publicity; sometimes called commercial exploitation. Each state deals with this differently, and in in some states there are criminal penalties associated. The idea is that each person has the right to control commercial publication of their image and likeness, and to profit from any such publication. That is why performers in...

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Can I be sued for posting a video on YouTube of someone else?

Your question raises some cutting edge constitutional and Internet law issues, currently being debated in courts across the country. Often these issues arise when individuals film public police encounters. At least one federal appeals court has ruled that this sort of public filming is protected by the First Amendment, despite wiretapping laws that might otherwise prohibit it. In Florida, both parties to a conversation must consent in order to record or 'intercept' the communication. So...

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Is my website idea legal?

Our firm represents online gaming sites throughout the world. This is a complex area of the law. You need to ensure that your game does not violate state and federal gambling laws, and also comply with any disclosure and filing requirements in those states which impose such requirements on sweepstakes/contest operators. Certain states prohibit 'skill gaming' in addition to gambling, so that needs to be evaluated. Some clients choose to geo-block states with burdensome restrictions. It is...

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My ex says he found nude pictures of me online, and is wanting to use them against me in a custody battle.

In addition to the previous answer, which covers most of the bases, you may also have publicity rights (also called commercial exploitation rights) to assert if your ex does in fact post the images online. These rights vary from state to state, so you'll need to check with an attorney licensed in Utah. However, from a practical standpoint, if the ex does post the pictures online, that would only hurt his custody arguments, because he will have engaged in tortious and/or unlawful conduct...

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