Courts Are Echoing The Third Circuit’s Repeal of Section 230–Huckabee v. Meta
Mike Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas and Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel. He claims that CBD advertisers featured his name, photo, and likeness in Facebook ads. An example of the ads is displayed on the right. As…
Ninth Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Ads–Lerner & Rowe v. Brown Engstrand
This is a major ruling validating the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising, which occurs when an advertiser purchases and displays ads triggered in response to third-party trademarks. Recently, the “Second Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword…
Court Revives Indiana AG’s False Advertising Case Against TikTok–State v. TikTok
This is one of the many AG enforcement actions against social media for [reasons]. In this particular claim, the Indiana AG alleges that TikTok coaxed users to install its app on false pretenses, including deceptive omissions about its ties to…
Second Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Advertising–1-800 Contacts v. Warby Parker
Fifteen years ago, courts generally avoided categorical pronouncements about the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising. That produced a string of waffly or irresolute rulings, such as the appellate rulings in Rescuecom v. Google (2d Circuit) and Rosetta Stone v. Google…
Catching Up on Two Keyword Ad Cases
A couple of keyword ad cases from a couple of months ago. Alsa Refinish LLC v. Walmart Inc., 2024 WL 3914512 (C.D. Cal. July 31, 2024) The trademark owner Alsa sells chrome paint. Walmart doesn’t carry the trademark owners’ items….
Angi Can’t Dismiss Lawsuit Over Failed Vendor Authentication–Everyspace v. Encor
Angi’s is the rebrand of the former Angie’s List. It matches contractors with homeowners. The plaintiff claims that the defendant company is engaging in a form of corporate identity theft, trading on its license number, and that Angi promoted the…
Five Decisions Illustrate How Section 230 Is Fading Fast
Section 230 cases are coming faster than I can blog them. This long blog post rounds up five defense losses, riddled with bad judicial errors. Given the tenor of these opinions, how are any plaintiffs NOT getting around Section 230…
Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Allegedly Pornographic Ads–Reaud v. Facebook
Reaud claimed he received 93 “unwanted gross and offensive pornographic ads” on Facebook. (I don’t mean to victim-blame, but if his claim is true, I do wonder how Facebook’s ad algorithm was responding to his onsite activities). He further claims…
Ninth Circuit Enjoins Much of California’s Mandatory Editorial Transparency Law (AB 587)–X v. Bonta
In 2022, the California legislature went on a censorship bender (which it’s still on). Its 2022 class of online censorship laws included the California Age-Appropriate Design Code (largely declared unconstitutional in NetChoice v. Bonta) and AB 587, an editorial transparency…
When It Comes to Section 230, the Ninth Circuit is a Chaos Agent–Estate of Bride v. YOLO
The Ninth Circuit is interpreting Section 230 again. Time to grab your tissue box. * * * The Jenga-ing of Section 230 continues in the Ninth Circuit. This time, the court blows up the Barnes precedent, which created a promissory…