Amazon Can’t Force Arbitration of Minors’ Privacy Claims Based on Alexa Recordings–BF v. Amazon
This lawsuit alleges that Alexa improperly stores the voiceprints of minor users. The trial court declines to order arbitration. (It’s the recommendation of a magistrate, so it will go to the district judge for adoption or modification of the order.)…
Internet Access Provider May Be Vicariously Liable for Subscribers’ BitTorrent Downloads–Warner Bros. v. Charter
This is another copyright infringement lawsuit against an Internet access provider for subscribers’ allegedly infringing P2P file sharing activity. It extends the copyright owners’ successes in two similar lawsuits, BMG v. Cox and UMG v. Grande. In this ruling, the…
Your Periodic Reminder that Blogging About Litigation Can Generate More Litigation–Wexler v. Dorsey & Whitney
As I’ve mentioned many times, blogging about lawsuits has its own legal peril. By definition, I’m commenting on people who’ve shown a willingness to litigate, so there’s a higher-than-average chance they will want to litigate against me. Though I’m quite…
Rounding Up Two Online Contract Formation Cases
Two more samples of what I’m seeing in the online contract formation caselaw. Reminder: if you’re using some variation of the “wrap” terminology, UR DOIN IT WRONG. Phillips v. Neutron Holdings, Inc., 2019 WL 4861435 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 2, 2019)….
Roundup of the House Commerce Committee Hearing on Section 230
Yesterday, the House Energy & Commerce Committee (the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce) held a hearing called “Fostering a Healthier Internet to Protect Consumers.” The hearing page. This post rounds up some…
The PLAN Act Proposes to Amend Section 230 to “Protect”…Landlords and Hotel Chains?
This is my third time in 2019 blogging proposed Section 230 amendments. The other two bills, from Sen. Hawley and Rep. Gosar, propose structural reforms to Section 230–to mandate political neutrality and ban any content moderation not required by law,…
Call for Participation: WIPIP 2020, Santa Clara University, Feb. 7-8, 2020 #WIPIP2020
The High Tech Law Institute invites you to participate in the 17th annual Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium (WIPIP), February 7-8, 2020, Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California. The colloquium provides intellectual property scholars with a forum to…
Top Myths About Content Moderation
How Internet companies decide which user-submitted content to keep and which to remove—a process called “content moderation”—is getting lots of attention lately, for good reason. Under-moderation can lead to major social problems, like foreign agents manipulating our elections. Over-moderation can…
New Paper Explains Why Technologists Should Rally Behind Section 230
At the request of James Grimmelmann, and with his editorial support, I wrote an essay for the Communications of the ACM called “Internet Immunity and the Freedom to Code.” The abstract: The Internet’s freedom to code is in jeopardy. In…
Section 230 Helps Tumblr Defeat Nonconsensual Pornography Suit–Poole v. Tumblr
This ruling came out in March, but it just showed up in my Westlaw alerts. I don’t know why it was delayed over 6 months. The opinion is topical and clear, so I thought it’s still worth blogging now. This…