512(c) Helps Vimeo Defeat the Record Labels. It Only Took 15 Years–Capitol v. Vimeo
This case is a throwback in every way. We rarely see lengthy (this one clocks in at 46 pages), detailed, and philosophical Section 512(c) opinions any more, and we only get this one because of the case’s extreme age. Capitol…
2024 Internet Law Year-in-Review
My ranking of the top 10 Internet Law developments of 2024. 10) X/Twitter Embraces Partisan Bias. For years, MAGA has claimed that Internet company employees are liberals and therefore surely moderate content to favor their preferred team (the Democrats) and…
California’s “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act” Is Partially Unconstitutional…But Other Parts Are Green-Lighted–NetChoice v. Bonta
California SB 976, “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act,” is one of the multitudinous laws that pretextually claim to protect kids online. Like many such laws nowadays, it’s a gish-gallop compendium of online censorship ideas: Age authentication! Parental…
The Fifth Circuit’s Campaign to Undermine Section 230 Is Making Progress–AB v. Salesforce
This is a FOSTA case involving Backpage, but it’s against Backpage’s vendor Salesforce. That makes this a tertiary liability claim. Here are the steps in the plaintiffs’ alleged chain of liability: V) victims promoted in Backpage advertisements (plaintiffs) –> D1)…
Omegle Defeats Lawsuit Over User’s “Capping”–MH v. Omegle
I previously described this case: Omegle enables real-time video and text chats with users assigned at random. The case involves an 11 year old girl who was a first-time Omegle user. The complaint alleges that a malefactor John Doe manipulated…
How Many Times Must the Courts Say “No” to This Guy?–Fyk v. Facebook
In 2018, Jason Fyk sued Facebook for removing and blocking his content. My previous summary of this litigation campaign: His lawsuit against Facebook was dashed by Section 230 in the district court. The Ninth Circuit quickly agreed and then denied his en banc…
Suspended Twitter User Loses Lawsuit Due to Section 230–Ryan v. X
[This blog post covers two decisions in the same lawsuit: the ruling on X’s initial motion to dismiss from September, which apparently never triggered my Westlaw or Lexis alerts, and then a ruling on X’s motion to dismiss the amended…
Amazon Must Defend “Yelp Law” Claim–Ramos v. Amazon
I support statutes that restrict businesses from contractually “gagging” their customers’ reviews. This pernicious business practice emerged around 15 years ago. Eventually, both state legislatures and Congress banned the practice. The flagship law in this area is the Consumer Review…
Attempt to Weaponize Section 230(c)(2)(B) Fails on Ripeness Grounds–Zuckerman v. Facebook
Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at UMass Amherst, wants to code and offer an app he calls Unfollow Everything 2.0, “which would automate the process of unfollowing friends, groups, and pages on a user’s Facebook social media profile.” Because he expects…
Section 230 Applies to Gamer’s Complaints About Griefing–Haymore v. Amazon
This is a pro se/in pro per lawsuit. Andrew Grant Haymore played the MMORPG “New World” and used the New World discord server, from which he was banned. He alleges the ban diminished his investment of 10k hours and $1,700…