Facebook Defeats Armslist’s Account Termination Lawsuit–Armslist v. Facebook
In 2020, Facebook and Instagram terminated various Armslist-related accounts, and Facebook prevented users from sending the URL armslist.com in private messages. Armslist claims these actions were in response to government jawboning targeting Armslist. Armslist sued Facebook and Instagram, alleging that…
Section 230 Applies to Consumer Reporting Agencies (But Only Sometimes)–Foley v. IRBsearch
[A reminder that I don’t do April Fools gags.] This lawsuit is against IRBsearch, a data aggregator of public records and other material allegedly scraped from the web. The plaintiffs claim that IRBsearch provided erroneous reports that denied them employment…
Are You Ready for MAGA to Weaponize Anti-Doxxing Statutes?–Watts v. Daily Kos
Wikipedia describes Anthony Watts as “a climate change denial blogger” who “opposes the scientific consensus on climate change.” The Daily Kos published an article about Watts, “Heartland Fundraising For Tony Watts’ $2,000 Thermometers To Compete With Global Temp Network,” that…
First Amendment Doesn’t Apply to Descriptions of Content Moderation Practices–Bride v. Snap
Last year, the Ninth Circuit said that plaintiffs could get around Section 230 in their lawsuit against the app maker YOLO because the app maker said it would ban users for inappropriate statements and would unmask harassers. This opinion raised…
It’s Never the RICO–Loomer v. Zuckerberg
Loomer brought RICO claims against Facebook, Twitter, and Procter & Gamble, claiming they were all part of a “wide-ranging conspiracy…to unlawfully censor conservative voices and interfere with American elections.” The panel says wearily that “This action is Loomer’s fourth lawsuit…
California AG Abandons Key Parts of California’s Mandatory Editorial Transparency Law (AB 587)–X v. Bonta
As you may recall, the Ninth Circuit substantially gutted California’s mandatory editorial transparency law (AB 587). In the aftermath of that ruling, the California AG abandoned its defense of key portions of the law. The settlement says: subdivisions (a)(3), (a)(4)(A),…
California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) Is Completely Unconstitutional (Multiple Ways)–NetChoice v. Bonta
I don’t normally start my blog posts with a meme, but this one tells you everything you need to know: * * * This blog post concerns the California Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC), passed by the California legislature in 2022….
Section 230 Protects Facebook’s Decision to Cut Off Sketchy App’s API Access–Six4Three v. Facebook
Six4Three developed an app called “Pikinis” (a/k/a “Pikini”), which enabled its users to search Facebook for photos of women in bikinis. 🙄 The app drew upon Facebook’s Graph API. Facebook later shut down Six4Three’s API access for what seemed to…
Verizon and Its Cloud Vendor Must Face Lawsuit for Reporting “CSAM” That Wasn’t – Lawshe v. Verizon (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Riana Pfefferkorn Child sex abuse material, or CSAM, is a longstanding scourge on the Internet. Like the baseball diamond in “Field of Dreams,” if you build a service that allows file transmission or storage, someone will come…
Another Lawsuit Over Online Content Restrictions Fails–Qian v. YouTube
Qian uploaded content to YouTube, which YouTube restricted in various ways. Qian sued YouTube for breaching its TOS. The district court granted summary judgment to YouTube. The Second Circuit affirms. YouTube’s TOS contained a standard reservation of rights to do…