Lawyers Ought to Know the Law
Kim Kardashian, a lawyer (well, sort of) ought to know the law, especially when it comes to social media influencers.
Kim Kardashian is a very rich person, reported to be worth a billion dollars, so you think she might have a lawyer or two she could call.
On the other hand, she is on her way to becoming a practicing lawyer, having passed the California “baby bar” exam. First year law students have to pass this in order to move on.
So why would she hawk Ethereum Max crypto on her Instagram account?
It is now clear why she did that.
The company paid her a quarter of a million dollars for that one post. Great work if you can get it.
Except that, in her case, she broke the law.
One might think, if you stand to make a quarter million bucks for one social media post, you might want to consult an attorney. Either she thought she was a good enough attorney (the saying is that an attorney who represents him/her self has a fool for a client) or the attorney she did hire doesn’t understand the law.
The U.S. securities law is clear. If you have 300 million followers you are an influencer and if you are an influencer and you promote something, you need to make it clear that the post is a paid advertisement. She didn’t.
Apparently, her post had the effect that ethereum wanted, boosting sales.
But it also caught the attention of regulators who do, apparently, know the law.
Kardashian has agreed to pay a fine of about $1.25 million, which is really pocket change to her, and not promote any crypto for three years. Given that most crypto is hanging on by a thread now, it is highly unlikely that any of them will be up for paying her a quarter million dollars for one post any time soon, so that should not have much impact. Still, it is embarrassing for her and her family since it is getting covered in all sorts of media.
On the other hand, if I were to hawk crypto (a) no one would listen and (b) it wouldn’t be illegal because I don’t have enough social media followers. In spite of that, I don’t plan on doing that.
Credit: Ars Technica
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