A Pre-History of the Trust & Safety Professional Association (TSPA)
I am part of a team that announced today the launch of two organizations, the Trust & Safety Professional Association (TSPA) and the Trust & Safety Foundation Project (TSF). TSPA will support the global community of professionals who develop and…
The CCPA Proposed Regs’ Data Valuation Calculation Provisions Provide Flexibility, But Raise Ambiguity & Transparency Concerns
by guest blogger Lourdes M. Turrecha, Privacy Tech & Law Fellow at Santa Clara Law [Eric’s Note: I am working on a mondo blog post about the AG’s final CCPA regulations. In the interim, I’m sharing this post from Lourdes…
Cybersecurity Experts Support Supreme Court Review of Enigma v. Malwarebytes Ruling on Section 230(c)(2)(B)
On Friday, 14 cybersecurity experts filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, supporting Malwarebytes’ certiorari petition to review the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 Enigma v. Malwarebytes ruling regarding 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(2)(B)’s application to spyware classification decisions. The Juelsgaard Intellectual…
Per Section 230, Facebook Can Tell This Plaintiff To Piss Off–Fyk v. Facebook
Fyk posted pissing photos and videos to Facebook. Apparently he made some good money from it. Facebook blocked his content. With the (likely expensive) help of four lawyers, he sued Facebook in a lawsuit celebrated on Fox News. (Yes, Fox…
Fortnite Defeats Another Lawsuit Over Emote Dance Moves–Brantley v. Epic Games
This case involves the “Running Man” dance, a 2016 fad. (Note: the dance is not the same as the old-skool Running Man dance move, a 1980s classic that I’ve attempted on occasion). A viral video of people doing a “Running…
Brokerage Account Formation Process Upheld–Valelly v. Merrill Lynch
The plaintiffs contend that their Merrill Lynch brokerage money was swept into unduly low-earning accounts. Among other things, they alleged breach of a quasi-contract, a claim that cannot work if there was an express contract. So, at issue in this…
What is a “True Threat” Online?–In re. R.D.
This case involves a Twitter war of words between high schoolers shortly after a local school shooting. Some tweets may have been quoted song lyrics, others were typical nonsense teen bluster, and some may have been legally prosecutable threats. The…
Fox News Is a Flaming Pile of Garbage, But You Can’t Sue Them for That–WASHLITE v. Fox News
I can’t understand why anyone watches Fox News. Fox News isn’t a serious news organization. It has instead found a market niche for unwavering partisan disinformation. As Prof. Yochai Benkler (Harvard Law) showed in a comprehensive study of disinformation in…
My Galley by CJR Interview on Trump’s Anti-Section 230 Executive Order
At Galley by CJR, I did a one-hour real-time virtual “interview” with Mathew Ingram on the topic of “Trump vs. Social Media.” For background, you may want to review my 5,800 word blog post on Trump’s anti-Section 230 Executive Order…
Section 230 Applies to Publicity Rights Claim–Hepp v. Facebook
Karen Hepp is a TV show host on the Fox 29 channel in Philadelphia. (No “Karen” jokes, please). She claims that “a photograph of her taken by a security camera in a convenience store in New York City was being…