So Many Unanswered Empirical Questions About FOSTA
I read an article, “Sex Trafficking and Technology: A Systematic Review of Recruitment and Exploitation,” by Lindsay B. Gezinski & Kwynn M. Gonzalez-Pons (unfortunately paywalled). They did a comprehensive and systematic review to identify empirical studies that bear on online…
Another Problematic FOSTA Ruling–Doe v. Pornhub
A few observations from reading numerous FOSTA cases: sex trafficking victim cases are horrifying. courts cannot figure out how to interpret FOSTA. due to FOSTA’s ambiguities, judges are turning to judicial activism to favor victims regardless of the law. the…
A Twitter Thread on the EARN IT Act
I did a (rare for me) Twitter thread on this topic, which is so crucial that I’m sharing it here as well: On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be marking up the EARN IT Act, which removes Section 230…
Another Anti-Vaxxer Jawboning Lawsuit Fails–ICAN v. YouTube
This is another lawsuit by anti-vaxxers. The “Informed Consent Action Network,” and its founder Del Bigtree, ran afoul of the social media services’ COVID misinformation policies. YouTube and Facebook each repeatedly blocked ICAN’s content items before yanking ICAN’s accounts. ICAN…
2021 Section 230 Year-in-Review
December 2020 ended with Section 230’s existence in jeopardy. Shortly before he insurrected a violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol, lame-duck President Trump demanded Section 230’s repeal. Trump even vetoed raises for our soldiers because Congress didn’t repeal Section 230…
2021 Internet Law Year-in-Review
This is my annual review of the Internet Law highlights of the prior year. I’ve posted a 2021 year-in-review post for emoji law, and I also posted a separate Section 230 year-in-review. NFTs. Much of the NFT activity right now…
Court Quashes 512(h) Subpoena Submitted to YouTube–Watch Tower v. Kevin McFree
A “lapsed” Jehovah’s Witnesses member, using the alias “Kevin McFree,” posted YouTube videos using stop-animation of Lego figurines to criticize the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The IP arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (the “Watch Tower”) claimed that one such video, the “Dubtown…
Catching Up on Recent FOSTA Developments (None of Them Good)
The number #1 question I get whenever I discuss FOSTA with folks who aren’t familiar with it: did Congress know what it was doing? Well, the answer is complicated. Many things have gone wrong with FOSTA, and those outcomes were…
The First Amendment Protects Twitter’s Fact-Checking and Account Suspension Decisions–O’Handley v. Padilla
The plaintiff is Rogan O’Handley, a California lawyer with elite credentials (UChicago Law, practice experience as a corporate finance and entertainment attorney) who nevertheless jumped onto the anti-“elites” Trump train 🙄 and embraced Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election…
Section 230 Preempts Claims Against Omegle–M.H. v. Omegle
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 her into disrobing so he…