New Essay Comparing "Due Process" Approaches in the DMCA and DSA

New Essay Comparing “Due Process” Approaches in the DMCA and DSA

As you know, I am not a fan of the EU’s DSA. Without First Amendment guardrails in the EU, the DSA represents a comprehensive government intrusion into the editorial processes of UGC services–with surely more intrusions to come. This will…

Court Says Twitter Misused Litigation to Punish Defendants for Their Speech--X v. CCDH

Court Says Twitter Misused Litigation to Punish Defendants for Their Speech–X v. CCDH

Self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist Elon Musk is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism directed at him. (As the phrase goes, “he can dish it out, but he can’t take it“). This well-publicized lawsuit is an example of Musk waging lawfare…

Section 230 Applies to Claims Over Hijacked Accounts (Except Maybe Verified Accounts)--Wozniak v. YouTube

Section 230 Applies to Claims Over Hijacked Accounts (Except Maybe Verified Accounts)–Wozniak v. YouTube

More Bitcoin litigation 🙄. This time, malefactors hijacked popular YouTube channels and uploaded videos promoting Bitcoin scams: First, scammers will breach YouTube’s security to unlawfully gain access to verified and popular YouTube channels with tens or hundreds of thousands of…

Buffalo's Mass-Murder Leads to a Wrong Section 230 Decision--Jones v. Mean

Buffalo’s Mass-Murder Leads to a Wrong Section 230 Decision–Jones v. Mean

You may recall the 2022 Buffalo mass-shooting, which was committed by a murderer responding to the “Great Replacement Theory.” (And yet, many people in the public eye keep referencing and evangelizing the theory despite its direct and repeated role in…

Fifth Circuit Once Again Disregards Supreme Court Precedent and Mangles Section 230--Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton

Fifth Circuit Once Again Disregards Supreme Court Precedent and Mangles Section 230–Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton

Texas passed a law (HB 1181) requiring pornographic websites to age-authenticate all users and then prevent minors from accessing online porn. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Congress passed functionally identical laws twice: the CDA in 1996 and the COPA…

Section 230 Doesn't Apply to Sending Non-Consensual Pornography by Postal Mail--Doe v. Spencer

Section 230 Doesn’t Apply to Sending Non-Consensual Pornography by Postal Mail–Doe v. Spencer

Spencer’s wife had an extra-marital affair with Doe. Doe sent “photographs and screen shots of sexually explicit images” to the wife. Spencer, the husband, came into possession of these materials via unspecified means. He assembled various collages of the images…

“Assuming Good Faith Online” Essay Published

I’m pleased to announce the publication of my essay, “Assuming Good Faith Online,” in the Journal of Online Trust and Safety. The published version. This essay has had a more convoluted publication history than most. I initially drafted it in…

Court Preliminarily Enjoins Ohio's Law Requiring Parental Consent for Children's Social Media Usage--NetChoice v. Yost

Court Preliminarily Enjoins Ohio’s Law Requiring Parental Consent for Children’s Social Media Usage–NetChoice v. Yost

[I blogged the Supreme Court oral arguments in the NetChoice cases yesterday. That decision could have significant implications for this case as well as all other First Amendment challenges of states’ efforts to censor social media.] I previously blogged the…

Comments on the NetChoice/Moody/Paxton SCOTUS Oral Arguments

Comments on the NetChoice/Moody/Paxton SCOTUS Oral Arguments

In 2021, Florida and Texas enacted “social media censorship” laws. These laws were never serious policy proposals; instead, the legislatures simply wanted to signal to voters that they hated “Big Tech.” The laws assembled a multitude of disparate policy ideas…

Snapchat Isn't Liable for Offline Sexual Abuse--VV v. Meta

Snapchat Isn’t Liable for Offline Sexual Abuse–VV v. Meta

According to the complaint, a 12-year-old girl made a Snapchat account, connected with sexual predators on Snapchat, met them offline, and was sexually abused. She sued Snapchat for her harms. Snapchat successfully defends on Section 230 grounds. The contested issue…