EFF Pub Trivia Night Recap

EFF Pub Trivia Night Recap

Last Thursday, I participated in the 7th Annual EFF Pub Trivia Night at Bluxome Street Winery in SOMA. My photo album. The EFF’s Kurt Opsahl was our Master of Ceremonies (in a smoking jacket, no less) and main question-writer. Several…

Facebook Gets Easy Section 230 Win in DC Circuit--Klayman v. Facebook

Facebook Gets Easy Section 230 Win in DC Circuit–Klayman v. Facebook

A Facebook user posted an anti-Semitic page entitled “Third Palestinian Intifada.” Many people objected to the page, but Facebook allegedly dragged its feet before eventually removing the page. For reasons I’ve never fully understood, Klayman (a lawyer, naturally) felt wronged…

Plastic Surgeon's "Before & After" Photos Violate NY Publicity Rights--Manzione v. Mashkevich

Plastic Surgeon’s “Before & After” Photos Violate NY Publicity Rights–Manzione v. Mashkevich

Dr. Grigoriy Mashkevich performed rhinoplasty on Catherine Manzione and took before-and-after photos of Manzione. Confusingly, Manzione apparently signed two seemingly inconsistent form consent agreements regarding the photos. One said: I do not want my photos to be used. I understand…

Texas Appellate Court Erases Court Order To Erase Google Search Results

Texas Appellate Court Erases Court Order To Erase Google Search Results

The Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline initiated a proceeding against lawyer Calvin Jackson of League City, Texas, but the commission later changed its mind and dropped the suit. Jackson then asked to expunge the action (what the court calls “expunction,”…

[Ad] New Publication Announcement: Data Protection Law Reporter

[Ad] New Publication Announcement: Data Protection Law Reporter

[Eric’s introductory note: I’m running this post as a paid ad for a new publication called the Data Protection Law Reporter. This is the first time I’ve run a paid post like this. Why have I made this special accommodation?…

How The DMCA's Online Copyright Safe Harbor Failed

How The DMCA’s Online Copyright Safe Harbor Failed

[Eric’s introductory note: I’m continuing my Spring housecleaning of blog posts that got stuck in draft mode for more than a half-year. I wrote this post in September intending it for Forbes, and some of it got obliquely incorporated into…

The Spectacular Failure of Employee Social Media Privacy Laws

The Spectacular Failure of Employee Social Media Privacy Laws

[Eric’s introductory note: this post has been sitting in the drafts folder since October. I had planned to convert it into a Forbes post, but that ambition instead caused the post to fester for 7 months. Numerous new state laws…

Want To Scrub Google Search Results In The US? Tough--O'Kroley v. Fastcase

Want To Scrub Google Search Results In The US? Tough–O’Kroley v. Fastcase

I’m choosing to live in a parallel universe where the ECJ’s Google scrub-search-results ruling simply doesn’t exist. I know it’s a fantasy world, but I’m happier there. Fortunately, here in the US, the ECJ ruling couldn’t happen. The First Amendment…

College Review Website Ordered To Pay $1M For Users' Disparaging Reviews--Neumont University v. Little Bizzy

College Review Website Ordered To Pay $1M For Users’ Disparaging Reviews–Neumont University v. Little Bizzy

Before the headline freaks you out too much, let me highlight the most important fact: this is a default ruling. The defendant was a company but it says it couldn’t find cost-effective counsel, so the company’s principal tried to defend…

Grieving Parents Can't Sue Topix Website For Son's Oxy Overdose (Forbes Cross-Post)

Grieving Parents Can’t Sue Topix Website For Son’s Oxy Overdose (Forbes Cross-Post)

Andrew Witkoff wanted to buy the prescription pain-killer drug Oxycodone (a/k/a OxyContin, commonly called Oxy). He found Daniel Park on the Topix online message board. Andrew purchased Oxy from Park and fatally overdosed on the drug. Andrew’s parents sued Park…