Online Dating App Grindr Isn’t Liable For Underage ‘Threesome’ (Forbes Cross-Post)
Many online dating services undertake some efforts to screen out dangerous or problematic members, but what should the law do if those screening efforts aren’t perfect? As a recent case involving Grindr shows, the answer is nothing. Grindr is an…
Court Says Uber and Lyft Drivers May be Employees
Drivers for Uber and Lyft claimed they are employees, not independent contractors. Two different judges hearing these cases both held that factual questions preclude summary judgment in favor of Uber and Lyft. As Judge Chhabria, who is hearing the Lyft…
GoDaddy Gets Important Section 230 Win in Second Circuit–Ricci v. Teamsters Union Local 456
GoDaddy won a Section 230 case in the Second Circuit. It’s a short and efficient ruling, but it’s a published opinion and the court says it’s the first Second Circuit opinion on Section 230 (I haven’t double-checked), which makes it…
It Takes a Default Judgment to Win a 17 USC 512(f) Case–Automattic v. Steiner
In enacting the DMCA’s notice-and-takedown system, Congress knew copyright owners and others might send takedown notices overzealously. To discourage abuses of the notice-and-takedown system, Congress enacted 17 USC 512(f) to create a new cause of action for sending bogus takedown…
Catching Up on Section 230 Cases From the Past 18 Months
I try to blog every Section 230 case I see. However, over the past year and a half, I’ve collected a few Section 230 cases that I had hoped to blog but that fell through the cracks for one reason…
Google Isn’t Liable For Including Unlicensed Locksmiths in Directories–Baldino’s Lock v. Google
Some states, including Virginia, require locksmiths to obtain state-issued licenses. Baldino’s Lock & Key, a licensed locksmith, is unhappy about being on the same search results pages as unlicensed locksmiths. It sued Google and various business directory providers for commingling…
Top 10 Internet Law Developments of 2014 (Forbes Cross-Post)
It’s time for my annual recap of the top Internet Law developments of the year. #10: Copyright Fair Use Tilts To Defense. Larry Lessig has famously said that “fair use in America simply means the right to hire a lawyer…
Are Takedowns in 48 Hours “Expeditious” Enough?–Square Ring v. UStream
This case involves the March 21, 2009 boxing match between Roy Jones Jr. and Omar Sheika, broadcast as a pay-per-view. (Spoiler alert: Jones won a TKO in the 5th round). Anticipating users would live-stream the fight, promoter Square Ring contacted…
Criminal Harassment Charges Survive First Amendment Challenge, Even Without The Threat of Personal Injury
This is a criminal harassment case. As recounted by the court, the Johnsons lived on the same street as the victims, the Lyonses. The Johnsons acquired some land adjacent to the Lyonses and sought to develop it, but ended up…
Will A ‘Cast Of Thousands’ Become A ‘Cast Of Thousands…Of Plaintiffs’? A Preview of Garcia v. Google (Forbes Cross-Post)
[Note: I wrote the following post on Monday before the oral arguments. I haven’t had a chance to view Monday’s oral arguments, but from the news reports and Twitter feeds, it sounds like Kozinski and McKeown will be squaring off….