2H 2018 Quick Links, Part 5 (Privacy, Advertising, Consumer Reviews)
Privacy * Winston Smith v. Facebook, No. 17-16206 (9th Cir. Dec. 6, 2018): “the connection between a person’s browsing history and his or her own state of health is too tenuous to support Plaintiffs’ contention that the disclosure requirements of…
Ninth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Clayborn v. Twitter
This is the ninth different case where a court concludes that social media services aren’t liable for providing “material support” to terrorists. This particular litigation involves the San Bernardino shooting, but the underlying incident doesn’t matter much. Instead, the court…
Best and Worst Internet Laws [Repost from Concurring Opinions’ Archive]
[In 2007, I guest-blogged at the group law professor blog Concurring Opinions. With the demise of that blog, I am now archiving my guest posts on my own blog. This post first appeared on February 15, 2007.] __ [Preface: I’ve already…
MySpace Sued for Facilitating Offline Sexual Assaults [Repost from Concurring Opinions’ Archive]
[In 2007, I guest-blogged at the group law professor blog Concurring Opinions. With the demise of that blog, I am now archiving my guest posts on my own blog. This post first appeared on January 18, 2007.] AP reports that four families…
Two Pro Se Section 230 Rulings–Scott v. Carlson & Watkins v. Carr
While we wait for the next big Section 230 ruling (so many cases are on appeal!), today I’m recapping two recent pro se cases. Scott v. Carlson. The complaint alleges that: Carlson created online content to attack Scott; Moon published Carlson-submitted…
Eighth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Copeland v. Twitter
This is another 1-800 LAW FIRM lawsuit against social media providers for allegedly materially supporting terrorists. Like the others, it fails. In light of the Ninth Circuit’s Fields opinion, dismissing a similar suit on proximate cause grounds, this opinion doesn’t…
Failure-to-Warn Claim Against Match.com Fails–Beckman v. Match.com
The Ninth Circuit’s Doe 14 v. Internet Brands and Beckman v. Match.com rulings held that Section 230 immunity did not apply to failure-to-warn claims. Those rulings revived both cases and provided some encouragement to plaintiffs more generally. However, this hope…
Another Suspended Twitter User Loses in Court–Kimbrell v. Twitter
Just last month, I blogged about a suspended Twitter user who lost in court. This pro se lawsuit also fails. It makes me wonder: how many other suspended Twitter users have pending cases in court? This lawsuit is also one…
FOSTA’s Political Curse
As you know, FOSTA was terrible policy. Since its passage, the law has been devastating to the communities of both sex trafficking victims and commercial sex workers. Law enforcement officers have stopped invested as much energy into sex trafficking operations…
Section 230 Doesn’t Support Habeus Petition by ‘Revenge’ Pornographer–Bollaert v. Gore
As you may recall, Kevin Bollaert ran UGotPosted, which published third-party submitted nonconsensual pornography, and ChangeMyReputation.com, which offered depicted individuals a “pay-to-remove” option. Bollaert appeared multiple times in my inventory of nonconsensual pornography enforcement actions. Bollaert’s conduct was disgusting, and…