Section 230 Immunizes OnlyFans for User-Uploaded Video–Doe v. Fenix
[Trump came close to repealing Section 230 in the 2020 lame-duck Congressional session (while he was also busy fomenting the J6 insurrection). With him returning to the presidency, the odds are extremely high that he will finish this project and…
Section 230 Defeats Underage User’s Lawsuit Against Grindr–Doll v. Pelphrey
This is another lawsuit against Grindr claiming that Grindr made it too easy for underage users to sign up and meet other users for sex. Thus, the plaintiff alleges “Grindr should have prevented C.D. from communicating with them by implementing…
Internet Access Providers Face Contributory Copyright Liability for Subscribers’ Infringements–UMG v. Grande
This is another lawsuit against an Internet access provider (IAP) for user-committed copyright infringement via P2P file sharing. For more background on this issue, see this rrcap and the links at the bottom of this post. My post on a…
Court Enjoins California’s Anti-“Political Deepfakes” Law (AB 2839) Because It’s Unconstitutional Censorship–Kohls v. Bonta
In September, California enacted AB 2839. It seeks to remove certain types of politically themed “materially deceptive content” (including “deepfakes” 🙄) during the election season, except for some labeled parodies and satire. The law provides a private right of action…
eBay Isn’t Liable for Merchants’ Sales of Items That Violate Environmental Laws–US v. eBay
The EPA civilly sued eBay for third-party merchant listings of items that violate environmental laws. For example, the EPA identified over 300k aftermarket “defeat device” listings, 5k+ listings for products containing methylene chloride, and 23k listings for violative pesticides. eBay…
Angi Can’t Dismiss Lawsuit Over Failed Vendor Authentication–Everyspace v. Encor
Angi’s is the rebrand of the former Angie’s List. It matches contractors with homeowners. The plaintiff claims that the defendant company is engaging in a form of corporate identity theft, trading on its license number, and that Angi promoted the…
Five Decisions Illustrate How Section 230 Is Fading Fast
Section 230 cases are coming faster than I can blog them. This long blog post rounds up five defense losses, riddled with bad judicial errors. Given the tenor of these opinions, how are any plaintiffs NOT getting around Section 230…
Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Allegedly Pornographic Ads–Reaud v. Facebook
Reaud claimed he received 93 “unwanted gross and offensive pornographic ads” on Facebook. (I don’t mean to victim-blame, but if his claim is true, I do wonder how Facebook’s ad algorithm was responding to his onsite activities). He further claims…
Comment on France’s Prosecution of Telegram Founder Pavel Durov
I don’t fully understand exactly what’s happening with Telegram and Pavel Durov in France. However, I have observed how many people don’t know the history of governments prosecuting Internet executives for the content or actions of third parties using their…
Bonkers Opinion Repeals Section 230 In the Third Circuit–Anderson v. TikTok
This decision is bonkers. The majority implies that any effort to curate third-party content automatically converts the third-party content into first-party content so that it no longer qualifies for Section 230 immunity. Because every UGC service necessarily curates every content…