47 USC 230 Preempts Sponsorship/Endorsement Liability–Black v. Google
By Eric Goldman Black v. Google, Inc., 2010 WL 3222147 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2010). The complaint. The Blacks run a roofing company. They claim someone posted an anonymous defamatory comment on an unspecified Google website, and this “comment misrepresents…
Creation of False Blog and LinkedIn Account Targeting Utah Resident Supports Personal Jurisdiction in Utah — Buckles v. Brides Club, Inc.
[Post by Venkat] Buckles v. Brides Club, Inc., Case No. 2:08-cv-00849 CW (D.Utah; Aug 11, 2010) A federal district court in Utah recently concluded that several individuals who were allegedly involved in the creation of a false blog and LinkedIn…
New Anti-Libel Tourism Act (HR 2765) Extends 47 USC 230 to Foreign Judgments
By Eric Goldman President Obama signed HR 2765, the “SPEECH Act,” into law, codified at 28 USC Secs. 4101-4105. The act prohibits US courts from enforcing foreign defamation judgments unless (1) the judgment would satisfy First Amendment or similar state…
Web Host Gets Easy 47 USC 230 Win in Catfight–Johnson v. Arden
By Eric Goldman Johnson v. Arden, 2010 WL 3023660 (8th Cir. August 4, 2010). The CMLP page with lots of source materials. I’ve been looking at over-the-top cute kitty pictures all morning. Just try to suppress the “aahs” on a…
Ripoff Report Defeats Extortion Claim, But Plaintiffs Keep Trying–AEI v. Xcentric
By Eric Goldman Asia Economic Institute v. Xcentric Ventures LLC, 2:10-cv-01360-SVW-PJW (C.D. Cal. July 19, 2010). First Amended Complaint filed July 27, 2010. I’ve lost track of the different techniques plaintiffs have tried to bypass 47 USC 230 and hold…
Private Facebook Group’s Conversations Aren’t Defamatory–Finkel v. Dauber
By Eric Goldman Finkel v. Dauber, 2010 WL 2872874 (NY Sup. Ct. July 22, 2010) I previously blogged about this case last year. The case involves a private Facebook group comprised of 6 high school students apparently mocking and criticizing…
Facebook’s Anti-Spam Filter Blocks Legitimate Conversations about Power.com
By Eric Goldman On Friday, Venkat and I posted about the latest ruling in Facebook v. Power.com. After Venkat or I make a blog post, I typically post the blog headline and URL to Twitter. I have enabled the app…
Judge Denies Facebook’s Request for Judgment on the Pleadings and Strikes Power.com Counterclaims — Facebook v. Power.com
[Post by Venkat, with additional comments by Eric] Facebook v. Power Ventures, Inc., Case No. C 08-05780 (N.D. Cal. July 20, 2010) Background: Facebook and Power Ventures (Power.com) have been locked in a battle over whether Power.com should be allowed…
Q2 2010 Quick Links Part 1 (Content Regulation Edition)
By Eric Goldman Online Publication * Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale, 2010 WL 1609274 (N.J. Super. A.D. April 22, 2010). Curating blogger and message board commenter does not qualify for New Jersey’s reporter shield law. The case also says…
Recent Anti-SLAPP Developments
By Eric Goldman As you may recall, I have endorsed HR 4364, the Proposed Federal Anti-SLAPP Bill. This blog post catches up on some recent anti-SLAPP developments both in and out of the courtroom. First, many of you probably saw…