Doctor Loses Defamation Case Over Online Remarks–McKee v. Laurion
By Eric Goldman McKee v. Laurion, A11-1154 (Minn. Jan. 30, 2013) Dr. McKee treated Kenneth Laurion. Unhappy with those interactions, Kenneth’s son Dennis critiqued Dr. McKee on various doctor review websites. Dr. McKee sued Dennis for defamation (and related claims)…
Another Employee Behaves Badly on Social Media. Really, You “Can’t Make This Up.” — In re Palleschi
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment from Eric] Palleschi v. Cassano, 2013 WL 322573 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 29, 2013). The trial court decision. Someone calls 911 complaining of a “gynecological emergency.” A fire dept. employee, an emergency medical…
Conviction Upheld for Impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls Scholars by Sending Out Emails Signed by Others – People v. Glob
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] People v. Golb, 2013 NY Slip Op 00436 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 29, 2013) The defendant was charged with impersonation and identity theft, among other things, for using emails to impersonate others: Defendant is the son…
State Laws Restricting Social Media Use by Sex Offenders Are Failing in Court
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Statutory schemes in three different states intending to regulating the online activities of convicted sex offenders have meet with judicial disapproval. Doe v. Nebraska, 09CV456 (D. Neb. Oct. 17, 2012): Nebraska’s statute…
My Talk to High Schoolers About Accountability for Online Content
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, I spoke at Los Altos High School as part of their “History Week” (check out that speaker roster!). The topic title is “Internet and Social Media Usage Rights,” which I turned into a talk…
Tenured Teacher Properly Fired for Facebook Quips About Her Students–In re Tenure Hearing of Jennifer O’Brien
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] In the Matter of the Tenure Hearing of Jennifer O’Brien, State Operated School District of the City of Patterson, Passaic County, 2013 WL 132508 (Jan. 11, 2013) [pdf] O’Brien taught in New…
Top Ten Internet Law Developments of 2012 (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to share my list of top 10 developments of 2012: #10: The Push Towards Anti-Class Action Arbitration Clauses. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion that businesses may be able to adopt mandatory…
The FTC Smartly Ends Its Imprudent Google Search Antitrust Investigation (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ended its nearly two-year-old antitrust investigation of Google’s ($GOOG) search engine practices with minimal consequences to Google. You can see the details from the FTC’s announcement. With any company as…
Section 230 Still Keeping the Pro Se Plaintiffs at Bay–Klayman v. Facebook, and More
By Eric Goldman I’m personally committed to blogging every Section 230 case I see, but I fell off the wagon in the second half of 2012. So what better way to usher out 2012 and ring in the new year…
Anti-Scraping Lawsuits Are Going Crazy in the Real Estate Industry (Catch-Up Post)
By Jake McGowan with comments from Eric [Eric’s preliminary note: it’s taken me weeks to review this blog post, so I’ve been keeping poor Jake in a holding pattern. Still, I hope the wait is worth it.] The real estate…