Comments on the Internet Association’s Empirical Study of Section 230 Cases
Elizabeth Banker of the Internet Association has posted “A Review Of Section 230’S Meaning & Application Based On More Than 500 Cases.” This complements Prof. David Ardia’s comprehensive empirical study of Section 230 caselaw from a decade ago. It’s great…
Plaintiff Can’t Use Trump’s Anti-Section 230 EO to Sue Facebook–Gomez v. Zuckenburg
This pro se/in pro per plaintiff sued Facebook because he couldn’t log into his account or open a new one. The plaintiff claimed Facebook violated Trump’s anti-Section 230 executive order, EO 13295, Preventing Online Censorship, 85 Fed. Reg. 34079 (May…
Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Repeating Rumors–La Liberte v. Reid
La Liberte spoke at a city council meeting. A photo of her speaking went viral because a “social media activist” posted the photo with a caption that she said racist things about a minority teenager in the photo. That turned…
Comments on the “Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act” (the “PACT Act”)
Last month, Sens. Schatz and Thune introduced S. 4066, “Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act” (the “PACT Act”). The bill was pitched as a narrow and modest bipartisan reform of Section 230; and Daphne Keller of Stanford labeled the bill…
Instagram User’s Lawsuit Over Terminated Account Gets Revived (But Not For Long)–Teatotaller v. Facebook
The plaintiff, a “queer hipster oasis” tea/coffee shop in Somersworth, NH, claims Instagram terminated its account without notice. It sued Instagram in small claims court for $9,999 and account restoration. There must be dozens or hundreds of similar lawsuits against…
Local Craigslist Ads Are Part of Interstate Commerce–US v. Luong
Luong advertised a used car on Craigslist’s San Francisco Bay Area site, in the “Dublin/Pleasanton/Livermore” subsection of the “East Bay” section. This area is sometimes called the Livermore Valley. From Livermore to the closest point in Nevada is about 200…
Q2 2020 Quick Links (Everything)
Copyright * Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications, Inc., 2020 WL 3121306 (E.D. Va. June 2, 2020). Each downloaded song file generally can support its own statutory damage, but “compilations” only get one statutory damages award, and no double-counting of…
Court Can’t Compel Twitter to Shut Down Trump’s Account
This lawsuit involves the @realdonaldtrump Twitter account. Has any Twitter account ever generated more litigation? The plaintiffs allege that Twitter did not properly enforce its TOS against the account. The plaintiff sought two types of relief: (1) a declaration that…
Emojis Keep Teen Out of Jail–State v. DRC
Tomorrow is World Emoji Day (named because most calendar emojis depictions show July 17 on the calendar). To celebrate the power of emojis, I’m blogging a case where emojis helped a teen avoid jail. DRC and her mom were having…
Trump’s Twitter Tantrums Are Affecting How Judges Evaluate Online Discourse–US v. Cook
The state unsuccessfully prosecuted Cook for drug offenses. “Not content to quietly accept his victory, Cook made disparaging remarks on the internet about various players in his Calhoun County prosecution.” The government prosecuted him again, this time for the federal…