Revenge Porn Is Bad, But It’s Not GoDaddy’s Fault (Forbes Cross-Post)
Revenge porn is odious, but so is a judge’s disregard for a federal law. In a lawsuit by revenge porn victims over the controversial revenge porn website Texxxan.com, a Texas state trial court had ruled that Texxxan’s web host, GoDaddy,…
Google, Yahoo and Amazon Beat Defamation Claims–Kabbaj v. Google
The pro se plaintiff alleges that unknown Does defamed him. He sued Google, Yahoo and Amazon for this defamation alleging: (1) Google administered a blogger service and profile pages that contained defamatory and threatening communications; (2) Amazon created several accounts…
Internet Law Professors File Amicus Brief in ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Case–Garcia v. Google
I’m sure you are familiar with Garcia v. Google, the copyright lawsuit against YouTube over the Innocence of Muslims video that led to a fatwa being issued against Garcia, an actress in the movie. In a truly awful opinion from…
Twibel Ruling: Tweeting That Someone is “Fucking Crazy” is Not Defamatory
This is a case that addresses how defamation can play out on Twitter, which is a perennial favorite of mine (perhaps owing to my excessive participation in that medium). Feld tried to buy a horse (“Munition”) that would become a…
Court Lauds Blogs “As A Means Of Free Dissemination Of News And Public Comment”–Comins v. Vanvoorhis
A number of states have “retraction” laws that require plaintiffs to demand a retraction from media defendants before suing for defamation. How these laws apply to Internet publishers arose early in the development of Internet jurisprudence. For example, in the…
Of Course The First Amendment Protects Baidu’s Search Engine, Even When It Censors Pro-Democracy Results (Forbes Cross-Post)
Baidu.com is the leading search engine in China. The plaintiffs in this case have published materials online about the democracy movement in China. They allege that, at the request of the Chinese government, Baidu excludes pro-democracy search results, including their…
Xcentric Ventures Chips Away at Small Justice’s Copyright Workaround to Section 230
Goren is a lawyer. Dupont made a less than flattering post about Goren to the Ripoff Report site, which is famous for not removing posts even at the request of the author. (Ripoff Report is one of the most successful…
Employer Gets Section 230 Immunity For Employee’s Posts–Miller v. FedEx
[Note: I am massively behind in blogging Section 230 cases. I probably have a dozen or so festering in my queue. C’est la vie. This case jumps to the front of the queue because of its recency and its relatively…
Court Rules That Kids Can Be Bound By Facebook’s Member Agreement
The status of kids’ ability to form contracts via online terms of service was somewhat uncertain over the last several years, with a few Facebook-related rulings raising questions. A group of minor plaintiffs who opted out of the Fraley v. Facebook…
Supreme Court Changes False Advertising Law Across the Country (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, in Lexmark v. Static Control, the Supreme Court articulated new standards about who can sue for false advertising under federal law. Because the Supreme Court rejected all of the disparate legal tests currently being used, this ruling will…