Tweet Containing Question Mark Isn’t Defamatory–Boulger v. Woods
In 2016, the Chicago Tribune published a photo of a woman giving a Nazi salute at a Trump rally. Twitter user @voxday wrongly identified the plaintiff as that woman. Shortly afterwards, actor James Woods, who then had 350,000 twitter users,…
Section 230 Preempts Unfair Competition Law Claim–Taylor v. Twitter
This is an extraordinary opinion. I can’t recall another opinion where the judge so candidly admits that he made both procedural and substantive mistakes. As troubling as those mistakes were, it actually gives me great confidence to see a judge…
Supreme Court Requires Completed Copyright Registration Before Filing Suit–Fourth Estate Public Benefit v. Wall-Street (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, No. 17-571, 139 S.Ct. ____, 2019 U.S. LEXIS 1730. The case involved the interpretation of section 411(a) of the…
Twitter Defeats Yet Another Lawsuit from a Suspended User–Cox v. Twitter
Cox alleged tweeted: “Islam is a Philosophy of Conquests wrapped in Religious Fantasy & uses Racism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Mutilation, Torture, Authoritarianism, Homicide, Rape . . . Peaceful Muslims are Marginal Muslims who are Heretics & Hypocrites to Islam. Islam is…
Filtering Software Defeats Another Lawsuit–PC Drivers v. Malwarebytes
I blogged about this case in September. PC Drivers makes software that claims to help speed up users’ computers. Malwarebytes blocked it as a “potentially unwanted program,” or PUP. Litigation ensued. In the prior ruling, Malwarebytes won big, but then…
It’s Really Hard to Win a Motion to Dismiss Based on 512(c)–Myeress v. Buzzfeed
512(c) and 230 diverge in key procedural respects, including the implications of scienter for motions to dismiss. Section 230(c)(1) has no scienter standards, so defendants can win on motions to dismiss despite virtually any scienter allegations. In contrast, Section 512(c)’s…
Another Failed Legal Challenge to Zillow’s Zestimate–EJ MGT v. Zillow
The plaintiff is a real estate investor. It bought and fixed up a property in New Jersey. Afterwards, the plaintiff listed the property for $7,788,000. On the property’s Zillow page, right below the listing price, Zillow displayed its zestimate of $3,703,597….
Post-Charlottesville Doxxing and Misidentification Creates Legal Risks–Vangheluwe v. GotNews
This is a lawsuit brought by former owners of a car who were incorrectly identified as the driver of the vehicle (and his father, respectively) who ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians in Charlottesville. In the wake of the planned…