If You Want an Enforceable Online Contract, You Better Keep a Good Chain of Evidence–Snow v. Eventbrite
Eventbrite wanted to send a lawsuit to arbitration, so it invoked the arbitration clause in its TOS. But did the plaintiffs assent to Eventbrite’s TOS? The court says no. What went wrong? Eventbrite has three online venues: its desktop website,…
QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Can’t Force YouTube to Carry Their Videos–Doe v. Google
This lawsuit is peak 2020. The plaintiffs dubiously characterized themselves as “‘extremely controversial’ ‘conservative news’ channels,” and they claim YouTube tossed them overboard due to its alleged anti-conservative bias. I don’t know the word “conservative” means in the Trump era,…
We’re Still Unsure If Instagram Grants Users a Sublicense to Embed Photos
I blogged earlier this summer about McGucken v. Newsweek, a case that involved a media defendant who was sued by a photographer because it embedded (and displayed) photos in an online article. Newsweek asked the court to reconsider its ruling…
LinkedIn Isn’t a State Actor–Perez v. LinkedIn
Perez had a LinkedIn account with over 7,000 connections (really?). LinkedIn removed some of his posts and restricted access to his profile due to alleged TOU violations. State Action. Perez, proceeding pro se, alleged that LinkedIn “is subject to the…
Twitter Wins Another Account Suspension Case–Wilson v. Twitter
I previously blogged the plaintiff’s virtually identical lawsuit in June. The plaintiff claimed Twitter suspended his account because he’s a heterosexual Christian. The court rejected all of his claims, including his allegations that Twitter was a state actor and Twitter…
Depicting Randy Orton’s Tattoos in a Video Game Could Be Copyright Infringement–Alexander v. WWE 2K
[To be honest, I’m struggling to blog new IP law developments during a time when we may be witnessing the last days of the American republic. Candidly, I’m hoping you won’t distract yourself from the urgent existential threats our country…
Another Roundup of Online Contract Formation Cases
Time for another roundup of online contract formation cases. HomeAdvisor, Inc. v. Waddell, 2020 WL 2988565 (Tex. Ct. App. June 4, 2020) The court finds this a valid contract formation process: The court explains: the submittal page was uncluttered, with…
Message Board Operator Isn’t Liable for Third-Party Posts (DUH)–East Coast Test Prep v. Allnurses
No need to check your watch. It’s still apocalyptic 2020, even though today’s blog post will take you back 15 years to when plaintiffs still hoped to hold message board operators liable for user posts. The caselaw has resoundingly thumped…
Repeated Amazon Purchases Sufficient to Impute Notice of Arbitration Clause
We blogged Nicosia v. Amazon in 2015 and 2016. (See “The “Browsewrap”/”Clickwrap” Distinction Is Falling Apart”; “Anarchy Has Ensued In Courts’ Handling of Online Contract Formation (Round Up Post).”) A recent Second Circuit ruling in favor of Amazon, while unpublished,…
Instagram User’s Lawsuit Over Terminated Account Gets Revived (But Not For Long)–Teatotaller v. Facebook
The plaintiff, a “queer hipster oasis” tea/coffee shop in Somersworth, NH, claims Instagram terminated its account without notice. It sued Instagram in small claims court for $9,999 and account restoration. There must be dozens or hundreds of similar lawsuits against…