Windermere Cay apartments in Winter Garden, Florida makes its residents sign a "Social Media Addendum" agreement that stipulates a $10,000 fine for "publishing or airing negative commentary" about Windermere Cay.
The agreement also stipulates that residents must transfer copyrights of written or photographic works about the Windermere Cay to the owner so the "owner will have the right to notify the website to take down any such online posting pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."
Not only is such a contract unenforceable, but it could expose anyone promulgating it to legal repercussions, Santa Clara University Law Professor Eric Goldman explained.
"It would be a terrible idea to enforce this in court. A judge is going to shred it," Goldman said in an interview. "If a person posts an Instragram photo of them having a party in their apartment, the landlord is saying they own that as well. The overreach reinforces that this clause is bad news, and it may be actionable just to ask."
