Unhappy AdWords Advertiser’s Lawsuit Partially Survives Motion to Dismiss–Dreamstime v. Google
Dreamstime sells stock photos. It started running Google AdWords in 2004. In 2015, Google organic (?) referrals to Dreamstime “plummeted,” allegedly reducing its number of new customers by 30% in a year. (The opinion isn’t crystal-clear that the traffic drop was…
Who Benefited from FOSTA? (Spoiler: Probably No One)
This post rounds up some FOSTA-related links I’ve aggregated over the past few months. There is no good news here. The data points suggest that in FOSTA’s first 9 months, it apparently has failed all of its policy goals while…
Illinois Supreme Court Authorizes Biometric Lawsuits Without Any Allegation of Harm–Rosenbach v. Six Flags
Six Flags, the amusement park operator, allegedly violated Illinois Biometric Privacy Statute by collecting a minor’s fingerprint without consent. The state appeals court held that plaintiff had to allege harm beyond the information collection without consent. The Illinois state supreme…
Unmasking Effort Mooted by Single Publication Rule–Glassdoor v. Andra
Glassdoor allows employees to review employers. An employer, Andra, was unhappy about ten pseudonymous reviews posted about it from June 2014 to June 2015. In August 2015, it sought pre-suit discovery of the reviewers’ identities. Glassdoor opposed the request and…
An Analysis of Title I and Title III of The Music Modernization Act, Part 2 of 2 (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa [This is part 2 of a 2-part series on the Music Modernization Act. Check out part 1 before reading this post.] The Musical Works Database One of the most important provisions in the MWM…
An Analysis of Title I and Title III of The Music Modernization Act, Part 1 of 2 (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1551, the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, which became Public Law 115-264, 132 Stat. 3676. It contains three titles pertaining to copyright…
Fourth Amendment Limits NYC’s Demands for Airbnb Customer Records
As part of its ongoing crackdown on short-term lodging, New York City passed an anti-Airbnb ordinance scheduled to take effect next month. HomeAway was also affected by the law, but I’ll focus on Airbnb. The ordinance addresses the challenges faced…
41 California Privacy Experts Urge Major Changes to the California Consumer Privacy Act
41 California privacy lawyers, professionals, and professors are urging the California legislature to make major changes to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which the legislature hastily passed in 2018. The letter highlights six significant problems with the CCPA, including:…
Blocking Constituents from Facebook Page Violates First Amendment–Davison v. Randall
The Chair of Loudoun County Board of Supervisors blocked a constituent on her official Facebook page. While the block was temporary, Davison, the constituent, filed a lawsuit, and prevailed after a bench trial. The Fourth Circuit affirms the main points….
Must Universities Shut Down Constitutionally Protected Speech Forums That Also Enable Student Harassment?
This case involves an uproar at University of Mary Washington over Yik Yak, the now-departed social media service that enabled geofenced anonymous comments. Initially, “Within the Yik Yak conversational thread available at UMW, several students expressed — in offensive terms…