Section 230(c)(2) Protects Anti-Malware Vendor–Enigma v. Malwarebytes
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] In 2009, the 9th Circuit ruled that Section 230(c)(2) protected Kaspersky from liability for blocking Zango’s software as adware. Since that ruling, we have seen relatively few…
How SESTA Undermines Section 230’s Good Samaritan Provisions
The following is my response to Questions for the Record submitted by Sen. Cortez Masto. Given that she has already co-sponsored SESTA following the Manager’s Amendment and IA’s flip, my response may be too late to matter (not that it would…
Would Shutting Down Backpage Reduce Violence Against Women? (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Alex Levy Many activists assert that the proliferation of online platforms that facilitate commercial sex has led to increased rates of exploitation and violence against women. This belief has motivated a slew of wide-ranging attacks against websites…
Manager’s Amendment for SESTA Slightly Improves a Still-Terrible Bill
On Friday, a Manager’s Amendment to SESTA was announced. The good news is that its revised language slightly improved the bill. The bad news is that SESTA remains bad policy. The worse news is that SESTA is now well-positioned to pass the Senate Commerce Committee and…
US Court Protects Google From Canadian Court’s Delisting Order–Google v. Equustek
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] Datalink allegedly misappropriated Equustek’s trade secrets to develop competitive products. Equustek sued Datalink in Canadian courts and obtained various court orders. The Datalink principal fled Canada…
Another Human Trafficking Expert Raises Concerns About SESTA (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Nyssa P. Chopra I’ve been an advocate of anti-human trafficking initiatives since I first became involved with the issue when I worked at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement….
Another SESTA Linkwrap (Week of October 30)
I doubt I’ll do weekly updates on SESTA, but I had enough new developments since last week’s linkwrap to do another. * On Friday, Communications Daily (in “Thune Sees Broadband Infrastructure as Top Senate Commerce Telecom Priority for Rest of 2017”) reported…
Association Isn’t Liable for Its Members’ Message Board Postings–Inge v. Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] Political turmoil can emerge in any community. This case involves a contested election for the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association’s board. Unsuccessful candidate Inge claimed the organization’s leadership…
Is Wikileaks Protected by Section 230? The Trump Campaign Thinks So
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] In Cockrum v. Donald J. Trump for President (see the amended complaint), the Trump campaign is being sued for allegedly colluding with Wikileaks and the Russians…
Another Court Rejects ‘Material Support To Terrorists’ Claims Against Social Media Sites–Gonzalez v. Google
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] Numerous lawsuits have been filed claiming social media services “materially support” terrorists because terrorist groups disseminate their content via the services. 1-800-LAW-FIRM (I kid you not) is behind…