Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Its January 6 Explanation–Mahoney v. Meta
The court summarizes the allegations: Plaintiff Genevieve Mahoney is a college student at Furman University who has an Instagram account with the username @genmahoney19. Mahoney attended what she describes as…
2023 Quick Links: Censorship
Age Authentication * Axios: “Tech platforms struggle to verify their users’ age.” The article didn’t mention that mandatory online age authentication is also unconstitutional. * Guardian: Australia will not force…
Web Page Framing Isn’t Trespass to Chattels–Best Carpet Values v. Google
…a C. By using an overly general descriptor, the analysis can sidestep key (and legally significant) technical distinctions. In this situation, the generic noun “website” collapses several different elements: the…
Ninth Circuit Confusion About Moderators and Section 230–Quinteros v. Innogames
I previously blogged this case in 2022. I summarized: This lawsuit involves the freemium videogame “Forge of Empires.” The plaintiff, Penny Quinteros (a/k/a TwoCents), claims she became addicted to the…
Court Enjoins Ohio’s Law Requiring Parental Approval for Children’s Social Media Accounts–NetChoice v. Yost
Ohio enacted a law, the “Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act,” Ohio Rev. Code § 1349.09. The law requires certain websites and services to obtain verifiable parental consent before…
Judge Goes Rogue and Rejects Snap’s Section 230 Defense for [Reasons]–Neville v. Snap
…as Snapchat is described in the SAC. As noted, even the parties struggle to find language with which to categorize Snapchat [Eric’s note: I discuss this more below], but neither…
Internal Search Results Aren’t Trademark Infringing–PEM v. Peninsula
This is a case involving a trademark owner and a competitive keyword advertiser. The trademark owner memorably (and ridiculously) characterized the rival as engaging in “keyword conquesting,” a term I…
Judge Rejects a Motion With the “Exploding Head” Emoji–DePietro v. Levitt
This is a class-action employment lawsuit. The parties settled and sought judicial approval of the settlement terms and associated attorneys’ fees. They didn’t get the approval. The judge balks at…
A Judge Enumerates a SAD Scheme Plaintiff’s Multiple Abuses, But Still Won’t Award Sanctions–Jiangsu Huari Webbing Leather v. Schedule A Defendants
This is a SAD Scheme case. The plaintiff, Jiangsu Huari Webbing Leather, owns U.S. Patent No. 11,478,673 for an outdoor exercise product (“a rectangular-shaped buckle-and-belt mechanism, embodied in a Hanging…
Why Online Marketplaces Don’t Do More to Combat the SAD Scheme–Squishmallows v. Alibaba
This appears to be a SAD Scheme case involving Squishmallows, a stuffed animals brand. The brand owner, Kelly Toys, sued 90 e-commerce merchants in a sealed complaint and got a…