Sex Offender Online Registration Statute Covers New Myspace Account — State v. White
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] New Hampshire v. White, 2012 WL 6062701 (N.H., Dec. 7, 2012) New Hampshire requires registered sex offenders to notify law enforcement when they create new “online identifiers.” The defendant, a registered sex…
Employee Terminated for Facebook Message Fails to State Public Policy Claim — Barnett v. Aultman
Barnett v. Aultman Hosp., 11-CV-399 (N.D. Oh. Oct. 31, 2012) Barnett was a nurse at Aultman Hospital. She didn’t particularly get along with her supervisor, Lisa Summer. While Barnett was on vacation, she received word that Summer had been fired….
Online Data Broker Need not Comply With Licensing Requirements for Private Investigators – Brown v. Intelius
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment by Eric] Brown v. Intelius, 4:12cv00852 AGF (E.D. Miss. Nov. 21, 2012) Intelius brokers data about individuals. The information comes from a variety of sources, including public sources. Plaintiff paid a fee and…
Court Reduces Damages Award if Defendant Honors Injunction – North American Recycling v. Texamet Recycling
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] North American Recycling, LLC, et al. v. Texamet Recycling, LLC, et al., 08-cv-579 (S.D. Ohio) (Order; Aug. 10, 2012) (Report and Recommendation; Nov. 17, 2010) North American Recycling sued Texamet and its principals for defamation. The…
Confirmatory Opt-out Text Message Not Actionable Under the TCPA — Ryabyshchuck v. Citibank
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ryabyshchuck v. Citibank, 11-CV-1236 – IEG (WVG) (S.D. Ca. Oct. 30, 2012) Ryabyshchuck filled out an online credit card application. A pop-up message displayed when he entered his information alerted him to the fact that by…
Another Court Finds Online Statements With Links Are Not Defamatory – Seldon v. Compass Restaurant
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Seldon v. Compass Restaurant, 2012 NY Slip Op 32673(U) (NY Sup Ct. Oct. 21, 2012) Eric posted about Redmond v. Gawker Media, a California case where the court found that use of…
Twitter’s Country-Specific Content Blocking Raises Questions about the Efficacy of Geolocation (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble Twitter’s General Counsel announced last week that the company, for the first time, “withheld” content from users from a certain jurisdiction. As Twitter explains on its website, its “goal is to respect [its] users’ expression,…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 5 (E-Commerce, Miscellaneous)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan E-Commerce * Noll v. eBay, 2012 WL 1413442 (N.D. Cal. April 23, 2012). The Complaint. eBay’s “Good ‘Til Canceled” fees survive a legal challenge. * Porras v. StubHub: StubHub not liable for tickets that…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 4 (Facebook, Content Regulation)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Facebook * Facebook settles “Friend Finder” lawsuit. Prior blog post. * Two girls, ages 12 and 13, face felony for creating a fake Facebook account. * Facebook says ‘Likes’ are Free Speech in Sheriff…
Ninth Circuit Says Yellow Pages are Entitled to Full First Amendment Protection–Dex v. Seattle
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Dex Media West v. Seattle, Nos. 11-35399 & 35787 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2012) [pdf] The City of Seattle thought that Yellow Pages were not particularly useful and created unnecessary waste, so…