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Areas of Interest
November 29th, 2022
Are Tom Brady and Larry David Liable for the FTX Disaster?
Blockchain Technology Co-Chair Hannah Taylor is quoted in the article, “Are Tom Brady and Larry David Liable for the FTX Disaster?” published by Decrypt. The article discusses the class-action lawsuit against FTX and how likely the allegations will stick to the celebrity endorsers who are listed as co-defendants. Hannah is quoted saying, “There’s not been a lot of precedent for holding celebrities accountable in this sort of case. It’s usually done to help draw PR attention to a case. What’s really going to be hard for them is to prove the idea of conspiracy or fraud—the idea that [these celebrities] were somehow part of some mastermind scheme to defraud consumers. I think that’s unlikely.”
The class-action lawsuit also invoked Florida state securities laws, claiming that FTX violated such statutes by peddling unregistered yield-bearing accounts (YBAs) like staking pools, which offered users guaranteed returns on deposits. “Once a digital asset that someone is promoting is found to be a security, additional rules apply about what they have to disclose and how they have to engage with consumers. If the Florida judge in last week’s lawsuit rules that FTX’s YBAs were in fact securities, past celebrity endorsers of FTX could be exposed to increased liability,” said Hannah.
Hannah says, “There are still factors that could increase a celebrity’s exposure to liability, though. The further their statements on FTX strayed from a general endorsement to specific claims of safety, trustworthiness, or guaranteed returns, the greater the risk of liability. What Steph Curry said, making safety claims about the platform, goes beyond what, for example, Naomi Osaka said, going ‘Oh, cool! FTX!’”
Hannah thinks the class-action lawsuit could be the least of these celebrities’ worries. She says, “Even if these plaintiffs might not be able to prove from a class action standpoint that these celebrities were willfully involved in some conspiracy to defraud consumers, you might have technical noncompliance with other laws.”
Read the full article here.
Other Quoted
The Television Academy’s Second Annual AI Summit Pushed Calm—and Concern
IndieWire quotes Andrew Folks who spoke on a panel of legal experts at the Television Academy’s AI Summit at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood. The speakers addressed AI's impact on the industry and talent. Mr. Folks stated that privacy and copyright laws “are grappling” to address AI. He explained regulatory actions, and the application of copyright law. He also discussed litigation, including how OpenAI and Google in a government proposal argued that fair use protections apply to all copyrighted material used for AI purposes. The article noted, "over 400 A-List Hollywood power players condemned such an action." View Article
March 21 2025
ICAS Announces Winners of the 2025 Global Awards at Annual Meetings in Mumbai
ICAS quotes Jeffrey A. Greenbaum on the importance of advertising self-regulation in protecting consumers and guiding brands on best practices in advertising. An international independent jury of self-regulatory experts chaired by Jeff chose six winners that contribute to responsible marketing practices and a more effective and impactful self-regulatory system. View Article
March 18 2025
Vegas Lights, Industry Nights, and the Future of Games
DICE quotes Sean F. Kane on the legal implications of generative AI in video games, including intellectual property uncertainty, privacy and data risks, and shifting platform policies.
March 17 2025
