Government Submissions to a Trusted Flagger Program Aren’t Unconstitutional Jawboning–O’Handley v. Weber
I previously described the plaintiff in this case, Rogan O’Handley, as: a California lawyer with elite credentials (UChicago Law, practice experience as a corporate finance and entertainment attorney) who nevertheless jumped onto the anti-“elites” Trump train and embraced Trump’s Big…
Section 230 Protects BBB from Liability for Consumer Complaints–Amuze v. BBB
Amuze is an online clothing retailer. Consumers left negative reviews of Amuze at the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland (BBB-GM) website. (This page?) Amuze sued BBB and BBB-GM for defamation and IIED. The BBB entities successfully invoked NY’s anti-SLAPP…
YouTuber Owes Money to YouTube for Ill-Conceived Deplatforming Lawsuit–Daniels v. Alphabet
Daniels goes by the name “Young Pharaoh.” [An aside: how do you feel about the “pharaoh” invocation? Their empires relied upon slavery, so it seems troubling to me.] He claims YouTube shadowbanned and demonetized him because of MAGA-ish content. Represented…
My New Article on Abusive “Schedule A” IP Lawsuits Will Likely Leave You Angry
I’m pleased to share a draft of a new paper, “A SAD New Category of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation.” The abstract: This paper describes a sophisticated but underreported system of mass-defendant intellectual property litigation called the “Schedule A Defendants Scheme”…
YouTube Defeats Trademark Lawsuit–Lops v. YouTube
Leonel Lops claims a trademark in the term “Confidence Empire” for shoes. He alleges that YouTube sold items under the “Confidence Empire” brand and published videos from a dance troupe named Confidence Empire (maybe this one?). He sued YouTube for…
Consumers Don’t Think Plant-Based “Milks” Are Cowmilk, But the FDA Wants More Disclosures Anyway
“The issue is, what is milk?” The FDA uses the term “milk” to describe cowmilk [FN], but that isn’t a single commercial product from a nutritional standpoint–there are various versions of “milk” with different fat percentages, with lactose removed, and…
Ripoff Report Gets a Pricey Lesson on Section 230–Selker v. Xcentric
I’ve blogged many Ripoff Report cases over the years, but it’s been a while since my last one (looks like 2018?). In this case, the plaintiff alleges that someone posted a false attack review; he paid Ripoff Report $2,500 to…
Form “Non-Disparagement” Clause Violated Consumer Review Fairness Act–State v. Ideal Horizon Benefits
In 2016, Congress enacted the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA), which bans businesses from trying to contractually restrict their customers’ reviews. It represents a rare federal intervention into contract law, and it does so for good reasons–to reduce the ability…
Why I Think California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) Is Unconstitutional
I’ve repeatedly expressed my opposition to the California Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC), and now I’ve put my opposition into more formal terms for a judge. With the pro bono assistance of Jenner & Block, I filed an amicus brief in…
Debrief on the Taamneh v. Twitter Oral Arguments
My observations about the Supreme Court’s 2.5 hour long (and very tedious) oral arguments in the Taamneh v. Twitter case: The justices struggled to define the statute’s actus reus (did Twitter take a culpable action?) and mens rea (did Twitter…