The “EARN IT” Act Is Another Terrible Proposal to “Reform” Section 230
Another “fix Section 230” bill is coming. This one is called the “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2020” or “EARN IT Act of 2020” and it’s being led by Sens. Graham and Blumenthal. The EARN…
Snapchat Temporarily Defeats Another Case Over Its Speed Filter–Lemmon v. Snap
Snapchat’s speed filter “allows users to record their real-life speed, including as a driver or passenger, and overlay that speed onto a mobile photo or video. Snapchat users can then share, on social media, that mobile photo or video with…
New Paper Explains How FOSTA Devastated Male Sex Workers
I call your attention to a new article: David Eichert (a JD/PhD student), “‘It Ruined My Life’: FOSTA, Male Escorts, and the Construction of Sexual Victimhood in American Politics,” 26 Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law 201 (Winter…
Google Search Qualifies For Section 230, Whether or Not It’s a “Platform”–Chukwurah v. Google
This is a prisoner pro se lawsuit. “The Complaint avers that beginning February 28, 2014, Google identified Chukwurah as a ‘a triple murderer serving 50 years in a Maryland,’” allegedly because of false court documentation. The court explains: the Court,…
Nextdoor Post Isn’t Protected by Anti-SLAPP Law–Jeppson v. Ley
Nextdoor is a social networking service for neighborhoods. This case involves an unspecified neighborhood, somewhere on the west side of the LA basin, with 951 neighbors. The underlying dispute involves a triad of neighbors, Jeppson, the Leys, and Cates. Ley’s…
FOSTA Constitutional Challenge Revived–Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. US
The DC Circuit revived the EFF-led constitutional challenge to FOSTA, holding that at least two of the plaintiffs have standing. This raises the specter that key parts of FOSTA might still be struck down as unconstitutional. Among other things, FOSTA…
Facebook Still Isn’t Obligated to Publish Russian Troll Content–FAN v. Facebook
In response to Russian interference with our 2016 presidential elections, Facebook belatedly purged content that it believed came from Russian trolls. That crackdown shut down the account of the “Federal Agency of News” (FAN), which allegedly has ties to Russia’s…
Vimeo Defeats Lawsuit for Terminating Account That Posted Conversion Therapy Videos–Domen v. Vimeo
Domen characterizes himself as a “former homosexual” who has now embraced heterosexuality. Domen (through his organization Church United) published 89 videos on Vimeo. Vimeo flagged the videos as violating its policy against the promotion of “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE),”…
Website Denied Section 230 for No Good Reason, Wins the Case Anyways–DF Pace v. Baker-White
[Warning: long and sad blog post ahead. Get the tissues now] This case involves the Plain View Project, run by Injustice Watch. The PVP republishes social media posts by law enforcement officers that might signal racist, misogynist, or other discriminatory…
Top Internet Law Developments of 2019
It’s increasingly hard to find good news in Internet law, so I organized this year’s Internet Law roundup by categories of doom. Trigger warning: you should grab some tissues before proceeding. Doomed (in a Bad Way) Doomed: User-Generated Content. It…