Suspension for Facebook/YouTube Rap Video Critical of High School Coach Does not Violate First Amendment – Bell v. Itawamba County School Board
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Bell v. Itawamba County School Board, 11CV00056-NBB-DAS (N.D. Miss.; Mar. 15, 2012) [.pdf] Bell posted a rap video while he was a senior at Itawamba Agricultural School. The video, which was shared which over 1300 of…
Another Newspaper Isn’t Liable for User Website Comments Per 47 USC 230–Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Library
By Eric Goldman Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Public Library, 2012 WL 734163 (D. Montana March 6, 2012). Magistrate’s Findings and Recommendations from November 2011 (Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Public Library, 2011 WL 7462038 (D.Mont. November 30, 2011). The Justia page. It’s not…
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 3 (Defamation/Content Regulation Edition)
By Eric Goldman Defamation * McKee v. Laurion, No. A11-1154 (Minn. App. Ct. Jan. 23, 2012) The appeals court revived a doctor’s defamation lawsuit over online criticism. Prior blog post on doctors’ lawsuits over online criticism. * Schimmel v. YouTube,…
Fake Political Attack Video Doesn’t Violate Lanham Act–Ron Paul v. Does
By Eric Goldman Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc. v. Does, 3:12-cv-00240-MEJ (N.D. Cal. March 8, 2012) The Doe Defendants registered the alias “NHLiberty4Paul” at YouTube and Twitter and posted a YouTube video attacking Jon Huntsman. The video ends…
Wikipedia Edits Support Defamation Claim–Pitale v. Holestine
By Eric Goldman Pitale v. Holestine, 2012 WL 638755 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 27, 2012) Given the size and scale of its database, it’s remarkable that we don’t see more US defamation lawsuits filed (rather than just threatened) over Wikipedia entries….
Facebook, Google and Lexis-Nexis Get 47 USC 230 Immunity in a Bizarre Case Involving a Missing Sex Toy–Gaston v. Facebook
By Eric Goldman Magistrate ruling: Gaston v. Facebook, Inc., 2012 WL 629868 (D. Or. February 2, 2012) Judge’s approval of the magistrate’s ruling: Gaston v. Facebook, Inc., 2012 WL 610005 (D. Or. February 24, 2012) Kanal V. Gaston went on…
Reputation Management Lawsuit Is Shot Down–Bernard v. Donat
By Eric Goldman Bernard v. Donat, 2012 WL 525533 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 16, 2011). The Justia page. Donald Ray Bernard is an energy consultant, big game hunt tour operator, former lawyer and former law professor. His LinkedIn page. His Google…
Banning Sex Offenders from Social Networking Sites is Unconstitutional–Doe v. Jindal
By Eric Goldman Doe v. Jindal, 2012 WL 540100 (M.D. La. Feb. 16, 2012) Sex offenders–especially those who victimize children–are pariahs in our society. If it were possible, I bet many folks would favor blasting them off into space rather…
Posting Family Photos to Facebook With Snarky Comments Isn’t Harassment of Family Member — Olson v. LaBrie
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Olson v. LaBrie, 2012 WL 426585 (Minn. App. Ct. Feb. 13, 2012) This case is what happens when a headline from The Onion comes to life. Aaron Olson sought a harassment restraining…
Employee Wins Harassment Claim Based in Part on Co-Workers’ Offsite Blog Posts–Espinoza v. Orange
By Eric Goldman Espinoza v. County of Orange, 2012 WL 420149 (Cal. App. Ct. February 9, 2012) Espinoza was born with an incomplete hand. In 1996, he started working for the county probations department. In 2006, a co-worker started two…