James Freed is city manager for Port Huron, MI. (It appears this is an appointed, not elected, position). He had a personal Facebook profile that, over time, exceeded the 5k friend cap. Freed converted the profile to a public Facebook…
This case involves a pseudonymous Twitter account, “@CallMeMoneyBags.” The account tweeted some remarks, including photos, critical of billionaire Brian Sheth. Soon after, an entity called Bayside asserted copyright ownership of the photos and sent 512(c)(3) takedown notices to Twitter followed…
This case involves copyright protection for fireworks systems–a relevant topic for July 4th! 🎆 Pyrotechnics (under the “FireOne” brand) claims to be the “world leader in digital pyrotechnic firing systems.” The system involves a central unit, field modules, and software…
Defamation * US Dominion Inc. v. Fox Network News LLC, No.: N21C-03-257 EMD (Del. Superior Ct. Dec. 16, 2021). Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News for its role in the “Big Lie” about the 2020 presidential election results survives Fox…
1-800 Contacts first appeared on this blog on February 9, 2005, my second day of blogging. 17 years later, I’m still blogging their ignoble trademark lawsuits. 🤡 Some “highlights” of 1-800 Contacts’ trademark jurisprudence over the years: 1-800 Contacts v….
Holmok teaches at Lakewood High School. Virag tweeted: “When I was in his engineering class, I had been a part of a few reports filed against him. Some being racial and some being sexist. Nothing was ever done.” Burke retweeted…
I’m continuing my coverage of dangerous Internet bills in the California legislature. This job is especially challenging during an election year, when legislators rally behind the “protect the kids” mantra to pursue bills that are likely to hurt, or at…
[Note: this is the first of what may become a 3 or 4 part series about anti-Internet bills moving through the California legislature.] This post analyzes California AB 587, self-described as “Content Moderation Requirements for Internet Terms of Service.” I…
Russia * NYT: Russia Intensifies Censorship Campaign, Pressuring Tech Giants. The US government should more aggressively condemn “landing laws” as a violation of free speech? * Wired: Russia Blocks Facebook and Twitter in a Propaganda Standoff * Bloomberg: Russia Steps…
[Shoutout to all of the dads out there! 🎉] The Algorithms * What would happen if FB turned off its newsfeed algorithm? In February 2018, a Facebook researcher all but shut off the News Feed ranking algorithm for .05% of…