WIPIP 2024 Highlights
…was interested in taking photos with them. I now offer Goldman’s Third Law: if you leave out banana costumes in a photo area, nature will take its course. We even…
Facebook Drops Anti-Scraping Lawsuit Against Bright Data (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Kieran McCarthy There is a new most important legal precedent in the world of web scraping. Bright Data appears to have prevailed in its dispute against Meta….
Court Preliminarily Enjoins Ohio’s Law Requiring Parental Consent for Children’s Social Media Usage–NetChoice v. Yost
[I blogged the Supreme Court oral arguments in the NetChoice cases yesterday. That decision could have significant implications for this case as well as all other First Amendment challenges of…
Comments on the NetChoice/Moody/Paxton SCOTUS Oral Arguments
In 2021, Florida and Texas enacted “social media censorship” laws. These laws were never serious policy proposals; instead, the legislatures simply wanted to signal to voters that they hated “Big…
Reaction Videos Are Fair Use–Thiccc Boy v. Swindelles
Thiccc Boy produces The Fighter & the Kid podcast, led by Brendan Schaub (the titular “fighter”). Swindelles (a/k/a Yew Neek Ness…uniqueness, get it?) broadcast at SaiyanZStream on YouTube (the stream…
Internet Access Providers Can Be Contributorily Liable for Subscribers’ Infringements–Sony Music v. Cox
As I’ve previously written, for many years after the DMCA passed, everyone assumed that 17 USC 512(a) completely shielded Internet access providers from liability for subscribers’ copyright infringements. Then, about…
Snapchat Isn’t Liable for Offline Sexual Abuse–VV v. Meta
According to the complaint, a 12-year-old girl made a Snapchat account, connected with sexual predators on Snapchat, met them offline, and was sexually abused. She sued Snapchat for her harms….
Judge Reconsiders SAD Scheme Ruling Against Online Marketplaces–Squishmallows v. Alibaba
You may have heard about Squishmallow’s recent lawsuit against Build-a-Bear over plushy knockoffs. While that’s interesting, I’m focused on Squishmallow’s abuse of the SAD Scheme. I previously blogged about one…
Another Court Finds an “Enforceable Browsewrap.” MAKE IT STOP–Hawkins v. CMG
This is a Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) case against a media website, so you have good reason to wonder about the legitimacy and sincerity of the case. The named…
Ninth Circuit Enforces a “Browsewrap” (That Was Actually a Clickthrough)–Patrick v. Running Warehouse
This is a data breach case. Several e-commerce sites were hit, first by hackers and then by plaintiffs’ lawyers. The sites invoked their TOSes to send the data breach cases…