Blogger Isn’t Liable for Anonymous Comments–Griffith v. Wall
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that Congress is on the cusp of gutting it.] Griffith blogs at the Lumberton Informer. He has criticized Wall, Lumberton’s municipal clerk. The blog allows anonymous comments, and Wall claimed…
Section 512(f) Complaint Survives Motion to Dismiss–Johnson v. New Destiny Church
Section 512(f) litigation has resulted in so much futility that it’s big news when a 512(f) complaint even survives a motion to dismiss. In this case, Johnson allegedly displayed copyrighted photos and videos of Paula White Ministries (the court implies…
Backpage Executives Must Face Money Laundering Charges Despite Section 230–People v. Ferrer
Yesterday, a California superior court judge dismissed pimping charge (due to Section 230) but did not dismiss money laundering charges against three Backpage executives. This ruling has potentially significant consequences for Backpage and its executives, the pending Congressional bills to…
How Section 230 Helps Sex Trafficking Victims (and SESTA Would Hurt Them) (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Alex F. Levy [Eric’s introduction: Alex Levy teaches Human Trafficking and Human Markets at Notre Dame Law School. She has written a timely and provocative article, The Virtues of Unvirtuous Spaces, about Backpage and online sexual commerce….
Facebook Defeats Another Case Over Not Removing User Comments–La’Tiejira v. Facebook
In terms of legal doctrine, this case is virtually identical to the Cross v. Facebook case I recently blogged. In both cases, the plaintiff sued Facebook for not removing user posts. In both cases, Facebook won an anti-SLAPP motion (CA…
Trademark Injunction Issued Against Print-on-Demand Website–Harley Davidson v. SunFrog
The print-on-demand business is a legally risky one. As I recently blogged, in June a court ruled that Zazzle did not qualify for the DMCA 512 safe harbor. This ruling is even more troubling. Are the days of print-on-demand services…
Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Failure to Remove User Pages–Cross v. Facebook
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that Congress is on the cusp of gutting it.] The principal plaintiff, performer Mikel Knight, was the subject of critical Facebook posts related to two fatal accidents by his tour…
Sen. Portman Says SESTA Doesn’t Affect the Good Samaritan Defense. He’s Wrong
When introducing the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (S. 1693, the Senate’s anti-Section 230 bill), Sen. Portman said (emphasis added): There are some groups who have been critical of this effort to hold backpage accountable and stop this…
Section 230 Helps Yahoo Defeat Lawsuit Over Online Harassment Campaign–Hall v. Yahoo
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that Congress is on the cusp of gutting it.] Thomas Hall is a lawyer and author. He claims he was targeted for email harassment by several individuals. He further claims…
Section 230 Helps VRBO Defeat Claim Over Fraudulent Listing–Hiam v. Homeaway
[It’s impossible to blog on Section 230 rulings right now without acknowledging that Section 230 is facing its most serious threat to date. I doubt the bills would change the result in this ruling, but the bills would so radically…