Meerkat and Periscope: Is Live-Streaming Video Legal? by Kerry O’Shea Gorgone
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
6 likes•1,503 views
The document discusses the legal issues surrounding live streaming apps like Meerkat and Periscope. It notes that while the apps allow users to instantly share video, live streaming without proper planning and consent can pose legal risks if it captures people's private conversations, copyrighted content, or events without permission. The document provides tips for planning live streams, such as controlling your location, storyboarding shots, obtaining release forms, and having a contingency plan to address any issues that may arise.
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Meerkat and Periscope: Is Live-Streaming Video Legal? by Kerry O’Shea Gorgone
Similar to Meerkat and Periscope: Is Live-Streaming Video Legal? by Kerry O’Shea Gorgone (20)
More from Y'all Connect
More from Y'all Connect (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Meerkat and Periscope: Is Live-Streaming Video Legal? by Kerry O’Shea Gorgone
- 1. Meerkat & Periscope: Is Live- Streaming Video Legal?
- 2. Hello! My name is Kerry O’Shea Gorgone Lawyer, Podcaster, Speaker, Writer You can find me at: @KerryGorgone KerryGorgone.com mprofs.com/podcasts
- 5. Insert Periscope screenshot Meerkat and Periscope Enable users to live stream video and share the feed on social media
- 7. 1,000,000 Number of people using Periscope to live stream video content 10 days after the app’s launch
- 8. Screen cap of NBC Nightly News with my comment visible. How is this new? Couldn’t we instantly share video already?
- 9. 1. THE PROBLEM You want to use the latest technology, and live streaming seems like fun, but the minute you start filming people you don't know, you're at risk.
- 10. Periscope and Meerkat So new and shiny!
- 12. Content goes live... without review.
- 13. You might live stream someone’s copyrighted content.
- 14. You might live stream someone’s private conversation. Photo by lisa-m_photography, flickr.com
- 15. You might live stream a sports game or concert (and get kicked out).
- 16. Live streaming can even be a crime Careful where you point that smartphone camera! Photo by itsmadisontaylor, flickr.com
- 19. “The real problem is not whether machines think, but whether men do. ~ B. F. Skinner, American psychologist
- 20. PLAN a live stream As carefully as you would plan a pre-recorded video shoot
- 21. Hecklers XXX
- 23. Using someone’s likeness for promotion (without permission)
- 25. Stream responsibly Tips for planning to stream video
- 26. Control your location to minimize outside interference
- 27. Storyboard then frame your shot
- 28. For branded content, get signed release forms from anyone prominently featured
- 29. Post crowd releases at your event to alert people in the area that you’re live streaming
- 30. Have a contingency plan In case unforeseen issues arise while you’re streaming
- 31. Now you try…any problems?
- 32. Now you try…any problems?
- 33. Now you try…any problems?
- 34. Now you try…any problems?
- 35. Now you try…any problems?
- 37. ““A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” ~ William G.T. Shedd, [TITLE]
- 39. Shhh… Presentation Handout Download key takeaways: http://www.kerrygorgone.com/yall-connect-downloads
- 40. Thanks! Any questions? You can find me at: @KerryGorgone kerry@kerrygorgone.com
Editor's Notes
- Good morning! I’m very happy to be back in Birmingham. This is my first Y’all Connect, and I’ve really been looking forward to it, so thank you for having me!
- My name is Kerry O’Shea Gorgone. I’m an attorney, and I blog about law for marketers at KerryGorgone.com. I also develop marketing training programs for MarketingProfs and host their weekly Marketing Smarts podcast.
- As marketers, we’re in a neverending race to stay ahead of the competition. We can’t jump on every new platform or trend, but if we wait too long, we risk being left in the wake of bolder marketers. Today we’re going to talk about live streaming video, the risks it poses, and how you can safely navigate these waters.
- One quick thing: I’ve uploaded a handout for this presentation with all the key points, so don’t worry about taking notes or missing anything! You’ve got this.
- First, in case you haven’t experimented with Meerkat or Periscope yet, they’re mobile apps for live streaming video. Content is shared in real-time, as events unfold. There’s no delay. There’s no editing. In Periscope, Likes appear as hearts on the stream, along with people’s comments.
- When Meerkat debuted at SXSW, it became the media darling of the conference…until Twitter cut off their access to its API.
- Twitter’s video streaming app, Periscope, quickly outstripped Meerkat when it launched shortly after. At this point, most of the coverage focuses on Periscope.
- You might be wondering “how is this new?” Recording video and sharing to Facebook takes seconds. You can already live stream from your laptop using Google Hangouts or YouTube. But live streaming from mobile is different. It’s real-time, unfiltered video, shot with a small screen, and users can like or comment live. Anything they say is visible, unless you change your settings so that only people you follow can comment. Profane or inappropriate comments display instantly to people viewing your feed.
- We all want to try the latest thing. The thing everyone’s talking about. For marketers, the first mover advantage is absolutely real.
- But there are RISKS. We can’t just pull out our phones and start live streaming on behalf of the brands we represent.
- Using a smartphone to live stream content makes it difficult to see what you’re actually sharing. Remember that famous scene in “Basic Instinct,” where Sharon Stone crosses and uncrosses her legs?. They looked at that shot in the studio, on a small screen, and Stone approved it. “You can’t see anything,” she thought at the time. WRONG. Up on the silver screen, people saw everything. Remember this: what you stream from a smartphone might be viewed on a computer or even a TV screen, and people will see EVERYTHING.
- TVs in bars. Songs playing over speakers. A live performance taking place in the background. It’s very easy to accidentally live stream someone else’s copyrighted content. “Incidental capture” didn’t used to be such a big deal. But that was before the RIAA started suing consumers for illegally downloading music. That was before people got arrested for capturing a few seconds of a motion picture in the background of a video post made from the theater. Incidental capture of copyrighted content is a big deal now.
- When you’re live streaming, you’re focused on what you’re trying to show, which means you’re tuning out background noise and distractions. You could easily fail to realize that someone within earshot is having a private or sensitive conversation, and you’re live streaming it.
- With so many people holding up phones and iPads during concerts, plays, football games, and all kinds of events, you might assume that live streaming the action on the football field or in the boxing ring is legally fine. And maybe it is, but it can still get you thrown out. You don’t have an absolute right to be on the premises where a live event is happening. You have a ticket, which grants you a license to be there. If you violate the terms of the license, you’ll be ejected. And many venues and sports teams now forbid live streaming. Think about how embarrassing it would be for you guests to be escorted out of the luxury box and kicked out of the stadium because your live stream violated the terms of your license! Even if the party is on your own premises, be careful if you’ve got a game or other event broadcasting on a screen in the room. Venues and broadcasting companies make lucrative deals that allow only specific companies to live stream the action. These companies own the feed—called a “simulcast”—as it goes out, so using Periscope or Meerkat to live stream a PPV boxing match on your TV, for example, would be an illegal violation of copyright.
- Live streaming a movie from the theater is a crime. Samantha Tumpach was arrested for capturing just a few minutes of the movie Twilight. She was making a video about her sister’s birthday celebration at the theater, not recording the entire film (or even a large part of it). She got arrested anyway and spent 2 days in jail. Even if you are trying to capture a social event, take care not to record a movie playing in the background! If your live stream picks up children running around naked at the beach, you could be guilty of diseminating child pornography. If you inadvertently frame your shot so you’re streaming footage from a private area like a restroom or someone else’s home, your actions might constitute invasion of privacy.
- At this point, you might be thinking "why bother with Meerkat or Periscope if live streaming is so risky?
- Because you can MINIMIZE the risks through planning.
- The technology isn’t the problem: the problem is that people live stream without thinking.
- Why, you might wonder?
- Hecklers for one thing. This Calgary man shouted a string of obscenities at female journalist Shauna Hunt as she was broadcasting live from a soccer game. Even after she confronted him about his bad behavior, he continued acting badly, saying “I don’t care. It’s effin’ funny.” People are unpredictable. People can be obnoxious.
- Oops. Oh dear. That’s unfortunate.
- Katherine Heigl sued drug store chain Duane Reade for SIX MILLION DOLLARS after the store tweeted out a photo of her shopping at one of its locations. Their use of her picture for commercial purposes violated her right of publicity – the right to control whether her image is used for promotion. They later settled the suit. The point is, brands need to be more careful than consumers when it comes to video and photo content—any use for marketing is considered commercial!
- After all those examples, you might be thinking "Okay, so I can live stream safely...but how?"
- By following a few simple, common sense rules.
- Shooting in a public place exposes you to unpredictable behavior. Like hecklers. Or even people just photobombing your stream! It’s distracting for viewers. If possible, shoot in a location you control.
- Had they looked at what was visible on a big screen before shooting, they could have reframed the shot to avoid this mishap.
- Ideally, you should have releases from everyone visible, but if that’s not practical, at least get signed releases from people you interview or feature heavily in your stream. DON’T USE SOMEONE’S LIKENESS IN COMMERCIAL CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION. (Especially a celebrity.)
- If there are too many people in your stream for signed releases to work, post crowd releases—flyers that let people know shooting is happening in the area, and that entering that space means that they consent to their image and likeness being used.
- Set a “rain date” to stream in the event your planned shoot can’t happen as scheduled. if you’re planning to stream in a public place, or on someone else’s property, have a back-up location ready—someplace you control. At a conference, for instance, set up a filming room away from the noise and bustle, or book a room in the conference hotel and stream there. If you want the background noise and activity, use a high-quality, directional microphone so that you get crisp, clear audio of your subject (and avoid picking up conversation from passers-by.)
- Now let’s see if you can spot potential issues. See any problems if you were to live stream this? Too easy, right? Flight info, hotel confirmations, passports, event invitations and receipts…NO NO NO.
- How about this? That’s a status board in the background. With the patient’s REAL NAME. And private medical information about her condition!
- Or this? License plate. House number. All in all, not smart.
- Any problems here for an individual Periscope or Meerkat user who sees Lindsay Lohan at a party, drinking Red Bull? What about Red Bull? Can they live stream this on their company feed? Quick aside, I’m not so sure Lindsay Lohan is the best spokesmodel for Red Bull, but let’s leave that out of this!
- Any concerns here? First, are these your children? If not, do you have written permission from their parents? The laws protecting minors are very strict, so make absolutely sure never to live stream children without their parents’ permission, especially for commercial feeds. And watch out at beaches or pools especially. You don’t want to show a child without clothes on and find yourself being investigated for child pornography!
- Okay, one more. You want to show how cool your start-up is, so you live stream the ping pong room. Any issues? First, your office is private property, and it belongs to your company. Know your company’s social media policy if there is one. And be CAREFUL of the background! You could violate clients’ privacy if that white board has any sensitive information on it, or you could compromise your own company’s proprietary info.
- You can't completely eliminate the risks live streaming poses, but that doesn't mean you should eliminate it from your content strategy. Plan your voyage, then set sail! Use the handout from this presentation to guide you!
- Download the handout for this session and my afternoon session on contests and giveaways here on my website.
- Thanks for having me!