The Necessity of Geoblocking in the Age of (Almost) Unavoidable Geolocation (Guest Blog Post)

by guest blogger Marketa Trimble Recent U.S. court decisions suggest that geoblocking might no longer be optional – the use of geoblocking might now be de facto mandatory for any website operator who wants to avoid being subject to the jurisdiction…

Twitter Isn't Liable for Impersonation Account--Dehen v. Doe

Twitter Isn’t Liable for Impersonation Account–Dehen v. Doe

Tiffany Dehen is a 2016 alumna of University of San Diego’s law school. Her website declares that she is “a true American and Patriotic Trump Supporter,” and her photo album includes a photo of her smiling with Dinesh D’Souza. She claims…

Section 230’s Success in Under-the-Radar Cases

For every high-stakes Section 230 case that gets widespread coverage, I see many other low-profile cases–often pro se–where Section 230 works as we all expect. These rulings usually aren’t super-interesting because they confirm the status quo. However, they provide a…

Roca Labs' Anti-Review Clause Violates FTC Act--FTC v. Roca Labs

Roca Labs’ Anti-Review Clause Violates FTC Act–FTC v. Roca Labs

Good news: a court ruled that Roca Labs anti-review clause violates the law. It’s shocking that Roca Labs chose to defend this practice in court, so it’s not surprising that the judge didn’t endorse it. Bad news: the court relied…

Vermont’s “Revenge Porn” Crime Survives Constitutional Challenge–State v. VanBuren

Like many other states, Vermont has a relatively new crime against nonconsensual pornography (NCP) dissemination. A lower court ruled that the crime was facially unconstitutional. The state appealed. In this ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court grants the “extraordinary” relief of…

California Lawmakers Want a Study of Fake News (If Someone Else Pays for It)

“Fake news” is a defining fear about our post-factual Trumpian era, which makes it important enough (or perceived to be so) that government regulators surely must do something about it. In response, the California legislature, demonstrating its characteristic leadership on…

Comments on Trump's Empty Tweetstorm Threatening Social Media Providers

Comments on Trump’s Empty Tweetstorm Threatening Social Media Providers

[Over the weekend, a reporter asked me to provide up to 300 words about Trump’s weekend tweetstorm threatening to regulate social media provider due to their alleged bias against conservatives. In light of subsequent events, it’s now clearer that Trump…

“Material Support for Terrorists” Lawsuit Against YouTube Fails Again–Gonzalez v. Google

This is one of numerous lawsuits against social media providers, seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks because they publish third party-provided terrorist-related content. These lawsuits have gone nowhere, including this one. I blogged the dismissal of the Second…

Another Failed Trademark Suit Over Competitive Keyword Advertising--JIVE v. Wine Racks America

Another Failed Trademark Suit Over Competitive Keyword Advertising–JIVE v. Wine Racks America

The parties compete in the wine rack/wine cellar business. The defendant bought the plaintiff’s trademarks for keyword ads. The plaintiff alleges this creates initial interest confusion. The 10th Circuit’s Lens.com ruling governs this case. The court says that case makes…

Twitter Gets Powerful Win in “Must-Carry” Lawsuit–Taylor v. Twitter

This is one of several lawsuits brought by disseminators of anti-social content (in this case, white supremacist content) seeking to prevent social media providers from cutting them off. In June, the lower court surprisingly rejected Twitter’s dismissal motion for the…