Catching Up on a FOSTA Case–ML v. Craigslist
This is one of many FOSTA cases in process. They are all quite complicated and hard to understand. This particular lawsuit targets Craigslist even though Craigslist shut down its adult services category in 2010, eight years before FOSTA was enacted,…
Catching Up on the Challenge to Texas’ Social Media Censorship Law–NetChoice v. Paxton
I’m continuing coverage of the legal challenge to Texas’ social media censorship law, now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. I recently rounded up the Texas opening brief and its supporting amici briefs. In this post, I’ll round up the…
Facebook Loses Jurisdictional Ruling in Texas Sex Trafficking Lawsuit–Facebook v. Doe
After Facebook ill-advisedly helped FOSTA pass, in 2018 it was sued using FOSTA for facilitating sex trafficking in Texas state court. Facebook tried to end the lawsuit using Section 230. This resulted in a Texas Supreme Court opinion reluctantly granting…
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…
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…
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…