Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Quote-Tweeting–US Dominion v. Byrne
This is one of the many cases related to Trump’s coup attempt. Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock (a store I will never shop at), made many posts about Dominion’s voting machines and alleged election fraud. Dominion sued Byrne for…
Poorly Executed “Sign-in-Wrap” Contract Formation Process Fails–Berman v. Freedom Financial
The Ninth Circuit recently considered when consumers assent to terms through interacting with a website: Berman v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC. The court confirms that to ensure enforceability, consumers should (1) check the box and (2) be advised that checking…
Does Snapchat’s Speed Filter Cause Car Accidents?–Lemmon v. Snap
Last year, the Ninth Circuit issued a confusing ruling in Lemmon v. Snap, holding that Section 230 did not apply to the plaintiffs’ allegations that Snapchat’s speed filter caused a terrible car accident, irrespective of whether or not the users…
Louisiana’s Anti-Vegan Law Constitutionally Enjoined–Tofurky v. Strain
[Note: I’ve been traveling for the past 10 days and have a long list of important developments to blog when I get back.] Numerous states have enacted laws that prohibit the use of meat/dairy terms, such “meat,” “milk,” “cheese,” and…
Instagram Embedding Cases Continue to Vex the Courts–McGucken v. Newsweek
This is a summary judgment ruling in a case where a photographer (McGucken) argues that embedding by a third party (Newsweek) of a photo posted to Instagram is an unauthorized display and therefore infringing. The court previously denied Newsweek’s request…
Second Circuit Confirms Fair Use on Motion to Dismiss–Yang v. Mic
This is a case initially filed by Richard Liebowitz that’s still clogging the courts, which explains why it is so transparently unmeritorious. I previously described the case: The photo at issue depicted a man in a bar named Dan Rochkind….
Section 230 Preempts Game User’s Lawsuit Over Game Moderators’ Behavior–Quinteros v. Forge of Empires
This lawsuit involves the freemium videogame “Forge of Empires.” The plaintiff, Penny Quinteros (a/k/a TwoCents), claims she became addicted to the game. She played the game virtually every day from 2016-19–over 10,000 hours worth–and spent over $9,000 on in-game transactions….
Texas and Its Amici Try to Justify Censorship in Their NetChoice v. Paxton Fifth Circuit Briefs
As you recall, in December, a federal district court enjoined most of HB 20, Texas’ so-called “social media censorship” law. As expected, Texas appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit. This blog post recaps the Texas brief and the 11…
When Are Sexually-Themed Memes “Harmful to Minors”?–State v. Chapman
Chapman was a high school teacher. He texted a student multiple sexually-themed memes and remarks. The court details 11 items; this one is representative: “A picture of a cartoon character with white liquid on its stomach and the caption ‘When…
Vimeo Wins Section 230(c)(2)(A) Ruling on Motion to Dismiss–Daystar v. Vimeo
This case involves Daystar TV Network, “an evangelical Christian-based television network.” It contracted with Vimeo to host and distribute up to 2,000 hours of videos/year. Daystar uploaded over 3,000 videos to Vimeo pursuant to this contract. Vimeo’s AUP banned content…