Section 230 Applies to Gamer’s Complaints About Griefing–Haymore v. Amazon
This is a pro se/in pro per lawsuit. Andrew Grant Haymore played the MMORPG “New World” and used the New World discord server, from which he was banned. He alleges the ban diminished his investment of 10k hours and $1,700…
Courts Are Echoing The Third Circuit’s Repeal of Section 230–Huckabee v. Meta
Mike Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas and Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel. He claims that CBD advertisers featured his name, photo, and likeness in Facebook ads. An example of the ads is displayed on the right. As…
Another Judge Balks at SAD Scheme Joinder–Xie v. Annex A
[Note: the defendants in this case are enumerated on an “Annex A” instead of “Schedule A.” It’s a non-substantive difference in nomenclature, but it’s one of several reasons why I prefer the more general “SAD Scheme” appellation for the practice…
When a Copyright Owner Gets Only a $1,000 Judgment in Federal Court, They’re the Real Losers–McDermott v. KMC
Matthew McDermott is a freelance photographer. The New York Post hired him to take photos of NYC police commissioner Keechant Sewell, paying him a day rate of $470. McDermott kept the copyright to those photo and granted NY Post a…
Call for Papers/Participation: the revived Internet Law Works-in-Progress Conference, SCU, March 8, 2025
We invite your in-person participation in the Internet Law Works-in-Progress conference, to be held at Santa Clara University School of Law in Santa Clara, California on March 8, 2025. This conference series took a multi-year hiatus due to the pandemic,…
Section 230 Immunizes OnlyFans for User-Uploaded Video–Doe v. Fenix
[Trump came close to repealing Section 230 in the 2020 lame-duck Congressional session (while he was also busy fomenting the J6 insurrection). With him returning to the presidency, the odds are extremely high that he will finish this project and…
Can EdTech Vendors Force Parents into Arbitration?–Shanahan v. IXL
IXL Learning sells edtech subscription services to schools. The plaintiffs claim that IXL “collected and monetized the data of millions of school-age children who used the IXL platform without parental consent,” in violation of the ECPA and state law. IXL…
Will Judges Become More Skeptical of Joinder in SAD Scheme Cases?–Dongguan Juyuan v. Schedule A
[Like many of you, I am still trying to make sense of the election results. I’ll restart my normal blogging, but I’m having trouble focusing.] This is a design patent SAD Scheme case before Judge Jeremy C. Daniel in the…
Another “Sign-in-Wrap” TOS Formation Process Fails–Morrison v. Yippee
When properly implemented, “sign-in-wraps” support TOS formation. Unfortunately, some websites make dubious choices in their implementation, even though the protocols for proper formation seem so simple to me. Courts are also struggling with how to compare “sign-in-wraps” to “clickwraps,” which…
CA Anti-SLAPP Law Applies to #MeToo Instagram Post–Nelson v. Bridgers
This case involves three people: Chris Nelson, “a well-established music industry entrepreneur.” Emily Bannon, an alleged former girlfriend and victim of Nelson’s behavior. Phoebe Bridgers (photo on the right), “a singer, songwriter, and guitarist” with a large Instagram audience. Nelson…