Sen. Graham Cares More About Trolls Than Section 230 (Comments on Online Content Policy Modernization Act)
I’m blogging yet another terrible Section 230 reform proposal: S. 4534, the ‘‘Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act’’ (introduced by Sens. Wicker, Graham, and Blackburn), which has been rolled into S. 4632, the “Online Content Policy Modernization Act.” Despite the…
Court Enjoins Trump Administration’s Attempt to Kick TikTok Out of App Stores–TikTok v. Trump
As I recently explained, the Trump administration’s efforts to suppress TikTok do not benefit the American public one bit. Fortunately, the Trump administration’s efforts to “MAGA” frequently fail when challenged in court, as is the case here. This case addresses…
WeChat Executive Order Enjoined Because (Of Course) It’s Unconstitutional–WeChat Users v. Trump
A federal district court preliminarily enjoined Executive Order 13943 seeking to kick WeChat out of the United States. This is a good ruling blocking an obviously unconstitutional executive order, but the fact the federal government issued and aggressively defended yet…
Twitter Isn’t Liable for Defamatory Impersonation Account–Brikman v. Twitter
This is a pro se lawsuit, which explains why the plaintiffs tried obviously doomed arguments that (I hope) no attorney would make in 2020. The plaintiffs are affiliated with a Brooklyn synagogue, Kneses Israel of Seagate. Someone created a Twitter…
Facial Recognition Database Vendor May Not Qualify for Section 230–Vermont v. Clearview
As you recall, Clearview AI is a facial recognition database vendor. Some law enforcement departments have adopted its service, but we aren’t sure how many. We also aren’t sure about its facial recognition accuracy (or, for that matter, how much…
Californians: VOTE NO ON PROP. 24, The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
On November 3, Californians will vote on Prop. 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Like most other ballot propositions, it’s designed to bypass the legislative process. Californians are usually inclined to vote “no” on those propositions, and that’s the…
My Testimony in Favor of Updating Utah’s Anti-SLAPP Law
This morning, I testified before the Utah legislature’s Judiciary Interim Committee about updating Utah’s anti-SLAPP law. My testimony is below. Several members of the committee expressed concern about California’s anti-SLAPP law scope because it made it too hard for plaintiffs,…
An Interview on Why Section 230 Is On the “Endangered Watch List”
[I did a short interview with a book author:] When we hear this debate of whether social media sites are publishers or platforms, why is it relevant to everyday consumers of content from sites like Facebook and YouTube? It isn’t,…
A Closer Look at a Troubling Anti-Scraping Ruling from Spring–Compulife Software v. Newman (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Kieran McCarthy Compulife Software, Inc. v. Newman is the first circuit court case in more than half a decade to expand liability for web scrapers under state and federal law. The two most recent circuit court opinions…
Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Craigslist Moves Forward–ML v. Craigslist
In April, a magistrate judge issued a breathtaking ruling that Craigslist can be sued for sex trafficking torts, that Section 230 didn’t support Craigslist’s motion to dismiss, and that the statute of limitations might not apply even though the facts…