Private Facebook Group’s Conversations Aren’t Defamatory–Finkel v. Dauber

By Eric Goldman Finkel v. Dauber, 2010 WL 2872874 (NY Sup. Ct. July 22, 2010) I previously blogged about this case last year. The case involves a private Facebook group comprised of 6 high school students apparently mocking and criticizing…

Facebook’s Anti-Spam Filter Blocks Legitimate Conversations about Power.com

By Eric Goldman On Friday, Venkat and I posted about the latest ruling in Facebook v. Power.com. After Venkat or I make a blog post, I typically post the blog headline and URL to Twitter. I have enabled the app…

Judge Denies Facebook’s Request for Judgment on the Pleadings and Strikes Power.com Counterclaims — Facebook v. Power.com

[Post by Venkat, with additional comments by Eric] Facebook v. Power Ventures, Inc., Case No. C 08-05780 (N.D. Cal. July 20, 2010) Background: Facebook and Power Ventures (Power.com) have been locked in a battle over whether Power.com should be allowed…

Q2 2010 Quick Links Part 1 (Content Regulation Edition)

By Eric Goldman Online Publication * Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale, 2010 WL 1609274 (N.J. Super. A.D. April 22, 2010). Curating blogger and message board commenter does not qualify for New Jersey’s reporter shield law. The case also says…

Recent Anti-SLAPP Developments

By Eric Goldman As you may recall, I have endorsed HR 4364, the Proposed Federal Anti-SLAPP Bill. This blog post catches up on some recent anti-SLAPP developments both in and out of the courtroom. First, many of you probably saw…

Three Gripers Get Disadvantageous Jurisdictional Appellate Rulings in Defamation Cases

By Eric Goldman Three recent appellate rulings, coming within 8 days of each other, illustrate how hard it is for an online griper to stay out of his/her target’s home court. None of these opinions are clearly wrong, but I…

Second Circuit Stays Hot News Injunction–Barclays v. theflyonthewall

By Eric Goldman Barclays Capital Inc. v. Theflyonthewall.com, Inc., 10-1372-cv (2d Cir. May 19, 2010) This case is my choice for the most interesting Cyberlaw development of 2010 (so far). Unfortunately, I ran out of time to blog it when…

FTC Busts Check-Issuing Website for Unfair Practices–FTC v. Qchex

By Eric Goldman Federal Trade Commission v. Neovi, Inc., 09-55093 (9th Cir. May 14, 2010) Qchex allowed registered users to create and send checks via a website. Initially, users could submit bank account information and payee information, and Qchex would…

Internet Access Provider & Blocklist Publishers Denied 230(c)(2) Immunity for Anti-Spam Efforts

By Eric Goldman Smith v. Trusted Universal Standards in Electronic Transactions, Inc., 2010 WL 1799456 (D.N.J. May 4, 2010) It’s usually a drag to read opinions in pro se lawsuits. Most of the time, the litigant gets flattened mercilessly. Occasionally,…

Brazil’s Proposed Internet Regulation–an Update (That’s Actually Good News) (Guest Blog Post)

by Guest Blogger Marcel Leonardi Some fantastic news: in response to the waves of criticism toward the proposed notice and takedown regime that might have curbed online speech in Brazil – see my prior blog post – the Brazilian Ministry…