2024 Internet Law Year-in-Review
…all of the times the courts have declared California’s Internet Laws unconstitutional, but I took special note of the Ninth Circuit’s rejection of the Age-Appropriate Design Code. How will the…
Amazon Must Defend “Yelp Law” Claim–Ramos v. Amazon
…The flagship law in this area is the Consumer Review Fairness Act, enacted by Congress in 2016. My primer on that law. California enacted a similar law, Civil Code 1670.8,…
Attempt to Weaponize Section 230(c)(2)(B) Fails on Ripeness Grounds–Zuckerman v. Facebook
…isn’t ripe, so Zuckerman is requesting an unconstitutional advisory opinion. The court says that because the app isn’t coded yet, there’s “uncertainty in how the tool will ultimately be coded,…
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) Treated as General Partnership for Liability Purposes–Samuels v. Lido DAO
…it is just software code. The court is not persuaded: “Lido’s alleged actions are not those of an autonomous software program—they are the actions of an entity run by people.”…
Ninth Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Ads–Lerner & Rowe v. Brown Engstrand
…trademark to make its sales. Keyword metatags are also distinguishable: “incorporating metatags consisting of a competitor’s trademark into a website code is comparable to displaying or presenting a mark….Even if…
Pixel Case Against Google “Jumps the Shark”–Doe I v. Google (Catch Up Post)
…offers the source code: Google. They allege that their health care providers use Google source code to analyze traffic on their web properties, that their personal health information is transmitted…
Five Decisions Illustrate How Section 230 Is Fading Fast
…law claims treat Grindr as the publisher of third-party content. “Grindr is responsible, in whole or in part, for the “Daddy” “Tribe,” the “Twink” “Tribe,” the filtering code, the “safe…
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…
Another Texas Online Censorship Law Partially Enjoined–CCIA v. Paxton
…material that qualifies as obscenity for minors under Texas Penal Code § 43.24. The law also provides privacy-style protections to minors, including bans on targeted advertising and parental control over…
When It Comes to Section 230, the Ninth Circuit is a Chaos Agent–Estate of Bride v. YOLO
…messages between users.” However, the court’s fact claim that online authentication is “rare” is dicey. Governments are requiring authentication broadly, including California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code that the 9th Circuit just…