Thumbs-Up Emoji Formed Binding Sales Contract in Canada–Achter v. South West Terminal
This is the instant-classic lawsuit involving a Saskatchewan farmer who text-messaged a “thumbs-up” emoji in response to an offer to buy his flax. The lower court found that the seller’s thumbs-up emoji constituted assent to the buyer’s offer and awarded…
Facebook Defeats User’s TOS Breach Claim–Lloyd v. Facebook
Lloyd sued Facebok for a variety of claims (I initially described the suit as “a standard kitchen-sink pro se lawsuit against Facebook”). The district court dismissed the complaint in 2022. This summer, the Ninth Circuit largely affirmed, but it revived…
Omegle Defeats Lawsuit Over User’s “Capping”–MH v. Omegle
I previously described this case: Omegle enables real-time video and text chats with users assigned at random. The case involves an 11 year old girl who was a first-time Omegle user. The complaint alleges that a malefactor John Doe manipulated…
Uber’s TOS Formation Upheld Again–Wu v. Uber
Goodness gracious, I could teach an entire semester of Internet Law focused solely on Uber’s TOS formation. It’s a source of never-ending, and sometimes avoidable, drama. This opinion is a companion to the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s decision in Good v….
How Many Times Must the Courts Say “No” to This Guy?–Fyk v. Facebook
In 2018, Jason Fyk sued Facebook for removing and blocking his content. My previous summary of this litigation campaign: His lawsuit against Facebook was dashed by Section 230 in the district court. The Ninth Circuit quickly agreed and then denied his en banc…
Does IP Law Protect Influencers’ Aesthetics?–Gifford v. Sheil (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Alexandra J. Roberts It’s become known as the “sad beige lawsuit” or the case that asks the question “can you ever really own an aesthetic?” But the suit, in which 24-year-old influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford accuses another…
Unfair and Impolite Tweets Aren’t Defamatory–Flynn v. Wilson
The plaintiff in this case is Mike Flynn, who served in important roles in the Trump 1.0 administration, got fired, and received a Trump pardon. I previously blogged his lawsuit against CNN. The defendants include Rick Wilson, a Lincoln Project…
Suspended Twitter User Loses Lawsuit Due to Section 230–Ryan v. X
[This blog post covers two decisions in the same lawsuit: the ruling on X’s initial motion to dismiss from September, which apparently never triggered my Westlaw or Lexis alerts, and then a ruling on X’s motion to dismiss the amended…
Bleg: Please Help Me Prepare for the Blog’s 20th Blogiversary
In February, this blog will celebrate its 20th anniverary. I’ll make together a series of posts to celebrate the milestone, and I would benefit from your help. I would be grateful if you could email me (egoldman@gmail.com) your thoughts about…
DC Circuit Says the TikTok Ban Is Censorship, But Upholds It Anyway–TikTok v. Garland
The D.C. Circuit held that Congress’ TikTok ban survived a variety of Constitutional challenges, including a First Amendment challenge, even if strict scrutiny applies. The decision will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with uncertain prospects, so this is…