YouTube (Again) Defeats Lawsuit Over Content Removal–Lewis v. Google
Lewis ran a YouTube channel, “Misandry Today.” (Misandry = hatred of men). He claims YouTube removed or demonetized some of his videos. The district court rejected his lawsuit. In a short unpublished memo opinion that basically echoes the district court’s…
When It Came to @RealDonaldTrump, Twitter Couldn’t Please Everyone–Rutenberg v. Twitter
The plaintiff Maria Rutenberg (a lawyer, perhaps not surprisingly) was unhappy Twitter shut down the @realdonaldtrump account, which meant she lost the opportunity to read and engage with Trump’s tweets. So, represented by a lawyer (Mark Javitch), she sued Twitter…
Internet Feuds Are Basically Defamation-Free Warzones–Rapaport v. Barstool
[WARNING: this post contains coarser-than-usual content.] This case involves actor Michael Rapaport, who has appeared in many popular TV shows and movies. Apparently he’s edgy in real life, which he demonstrated through a CBS Radio show. Barstool Productions “has cultivated…
Deconstructing Justice Thomas’ Pro-Censorship Statement in Knight First Amendment v. Trump
Last week, the Supreme Court vacated the Second Circuit’s Knight v. Trump ruling. The Second Circuit held that Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked other Twitter users from engaging with his @realdonaldtrump account. Other courts are holding that…
512(f) Preempts Tortious Interference Claim–Copy Me That v. This Old Gal
“Copy Me That” (I’m pretty sure no IP lawyer recommended that name–it’s like a confession for copyright defendants) makes an app to help users manage recipes. “This Old Gal” (again, who comes up with these names?) publishes recipes. This Old…
There Are Multiple Types of “Clickwrap.” They Should All Be Enforceable–Calderon v. Sixt
This case involves rental car contracts. Typically, a rental car company can form a contract at three different times: when making an online reservation, when actually completing the reservation in person (nowadays, usually it’s an electronic signature on a point-of-sale…
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Fair Use in Google-Oracle Software Battle (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa [BONUS: Prof. Ochoa will be speaking on this case April 13, 6pm Pacific. Free registration.] On April 5, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-2 that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of code from the Java…
Section 230 Preempts Contract Breach Claims–Morton v. Twitter
This case involves the model Genevieve Morton. She created nude images and sold them at her website. An interloper, SpyIRL, tweeted some of the images. Morton asked Twitter to remove the images and suspend the accounts. Twitter removed the images…
Another Must-Carry Lawsuit Against YouTube Fails–Daniels v Alphabet
[I’ll discuss Justice Thomas’ latest bonkers statement later this week] Daniels, a/k/a “Young Pharoah,” posted videos to YouTube, apparently of the #MAGA genre. YouTube removed some videos, allegedly “shadowbanned” him (again, I raise questions whether that’s the appropriate term here),…
Udemy Qualifies for 512(c) Safe Harbor for User-Uploaded Courses–Kinsley v. Udemy
This case involves two videos by Kinsley that third parties uploaded to the education site Udemy. Udemy promptly honored Kinsley’s takedown notices, but he sued anyways. In a fairly efficient opinion, the court grants summary judgment that Udemy qualifies for…