512(f) Plaintiff Must Pay $91k to the Defense–Digital Marketing v. McCandless
It’s typically pointless to bring a 512(f) claim because the law makes it almost impossible to win. Plus, 512(f) plaintiffs have to consider the possibility of a costly fee shift…
Facebook Can’t Shake Lawsuit Over OnlyFans Bribery Allegations–Dangaard v. Meta
This lawsuit involves troubling allegations that Facebook executives (allegedly, Nick Clegg, Nicola Mendelsohn, and Cristian Perrella) took bribes from OnlyFans-related entities to spike Facebook and Instagram posts that promoted competitors…
Catching Up on Government Officials’ Censorship of Constituents on Social Media
…inconsistent with an intent to create an unrestricted public forum…. [Eric’s comment: this is obviously circular. That’s not a new concern when it comes to forum analysis, but it’s perpetually…
Another Rough Copyright Ruling for Internet Access Providers–Bodyguard v. RCN
…at IP addresses assigned to Defendants from ARIN… [Eric’s note: reminder about the problems of assuming subscribers’ infringing activity based on takedown notices.] Plaintiffs sufficiently allege conduct that encourages or…
New Paper: “Assuming Good Faith Online”
As part of a symposium, I was asked to write a short paper about how the Internet has changed since the mid-1990s when Section 230 was adopted. I chose to…
Yet More Evidence That Keyword Advertising Lawsuits Are Stupid–Porta-Fab v. Allied Modular
…purchaser care in decisions like this, unless “Portafab” has become the generic descriptor for this category of goods. Because the ad copy includes the plaintiff’s trademark, the court says there…
Snap and Airbnb Aren’t Liable for Tragic Shooting–Jackson v. Airbnb
This case involves a tragedy of a minor shooting another minor (the shooter and the victim’s family disagree about whether it was accidental or intentional). The shooter acquired the gun…
Court Again Rejects Lawsuit Over YouTube’s Allegedly Discriminatory Content Moderation–Divino v. YouTube
LGBTQ+ content creators “claim that despite YouTube’s purported viewpoint neutrality, defendants have discriminated against them based on their sexual or gender orientation, identity, and/or viewpoints by censoring, demonetizing, or otherwise…
A Hospital Mailed a Patient’s Confidential Diagnosis to a Rando. You’ll Never Guess What Happened Next–ZD v. Community Health
The facts in this case are so bizarre and outrageous that I had to read them several times: On September 30, 2018, Z.D. underwent an examination and medical testing in…
“Liking” a Facebook Post Isn’t Defamatory–Gallagher v. MaternityWise
[WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY THANKSGIVING] In 2018, Young posted a Facebook review accusing plaintiff Gallagher of being a sexual predator. Defendant Croudace allegedly “liked” Young’s post. The…