Fair Use Likely Protects Discussion of Blog Post and Comments
This is a lawsuit between pro se parties. As the court notes, the feud between the parties largely took place online, but eventually “found its way into federal court”. Plaintiff is the publisher the “Hogewash!” blog. Defendant is a “retired…
Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights Compared to Section 230 (Excerpt from My Internet Law Casebook)
I recently announced the release of my 2014 Internet Law casebook. For this year’s edition, I added a module exploring comparative intermediary liability, explaining how Section 230 differs from some other intermediary regulatory schemes adopted around the globe. Below, I’ve…
Fining Customers For Negative Online Reviews Isn’t New…Or Smart (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, we learned that a New York hotel, the Union Street Guest House, was fining guests $500 for posting negative online reviews. The story received considerable media attention because the restriction violates our social norms and is almost certainly…
Conviction for Posting Pages From Teenager’s Diary Via Mail and Facebook Partially Reversed
The defendant, Teri Buhl, was prosecuted under a bizarre set of facts. Buhl, a journalist, was in a relationship with P (the opinion does not identify him, but Buhl’s account of the case, linked below, does). P’s daughter kept a…
Does Yelp Have The ‘Most Trusted Reviews’? A Court Wants To Know More (Forbes Cross-Post)
Few online algorithms generate as much criticism as Yelp’s algorithm for filtering its users’ reviews, but Yelp has so far successfully avoided a serious legal challenge to its filter. Recently, a California appellate court green-lighted a lawsuit over how Yelp…
2014 Internet Law Casebook and Syllabus Now Available
My 2014 Internet Law syllabus and updated casebook ($8 DRM-free PDF download) are now online. This year I’m celebrating my 20th year teaching the course! (For more background on my Internet Law course, see this essay). This post will explain…
Employee’s Discrimination Claim Can’t be Salvaged by Coworker’s Allegedly Inappropriate Facebook Post — Brown v Tyson Foods
This is another firing-for-Facebooking case. Plaintiff was an hourly employee in Tyson’s Nashville facility. In September 2012 she was initially suspended after a video surfaced of her “shaking her tail” and placing money in the shirt of a male co-worker….
When Is It Appropriate For Teachers To Call Students “Rat-Like” or “Dunderheads” in a Pseudonymous Blog? Never.
Natalie Munroe was a teacher in Central Bucks School District. She received good reviews over the years. In 2009, she started a blog, Where are we going, and why are we in this hand basket? (last post, April 2014) She blogged as…