Allegations of a Bribe-Driven Facebook-OnlyFans Conspiracy Unsurprisingly Fall Apart in Court–Dangaard v. Instagram
The plaintiffs’ allegations were sizzling. In my previous post, I summarized: This lawsuit involves troubling allegations that Facebook executives (allegedly, Nick Clegg, Nicola Mendelsohn, and Cristian Perrella) took bribes from OnlyFans-related entities to spike Facebook and Instagram posts that promoted…
Internet Law Professors Submit a SCOTUS Amicus Brief on Online Age Authentication–Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton
Along with seven other Internet Law professors, I filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in the case of Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. The lawsuit challenges Texas HB 1181, which is basically a resurrection of the old…
Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Allegedly Pornographic Ads–Reaud v. Facebook
Reaud claimed he received 93 “unwanted gross and offensive pornographic ads” on Facebook. (I don’t mean to victim-blame, but if his claim is true, I do wonder how Facebook’s ad algorithm was responding to his onsite activities). He further claims…
Court Enjoins the Utah “Minor Protection in Social Media Act”–NetChoice v. Reyes
Utah’s Minor Protection in Social Media Act contains two major provisions. First, it requires social media companies to conduct age assurance of their users to a 95% accuracy rate, along with an appellate process for misclassified users. Second, once minors…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Breaking Internet Law Faster Than I Can Blog It
Having built his professional reputation as a plaintiff (initially, to protect the environment), RFK Jr. is sticking with what he knows best–LAWSUITS. He’s suing an ever-expanding constellation of players to force their publication of his anti-vax views. He’s failing decisively…
Comment on France’s Prosecution of Telegram Founder Pavel Durov
I don’t fully understand exactly what’s happening with Telegram and Pavel Durov in France. However, I have observed how many people don’t know the history of governments prosecuting Internet executives for the content or actions of third parties using their…
Ninth Circuit Enjoins Much of California’s Mandatory Editorial Transparency Law (AB 587)–X v. Bonta
In 2022, the California legislature went on a censorship bender (which it’s still on). Its 2022 class of online censorship laws included the California Age-Appropriate Design Code (largely declared unconstitutional in NetChoice v. Bonta) and AB 587, an editorial transparency…
Another Texas Online Censorship Law Partially Enjoined–CCIA v. Paxton
This case involves HB 18, one of the multitudinous online censorship laws the Texas Legislature keeps spewing out. This particular one requires “digital service providers” to age-authenticate all users. [This law extends HB 1181, which also requires age-authentication by some…
Bonkers Opinion Repeals Section 230 In the Third Circuit–Anderson v. TikTok
This decision is bonkers. The majority implies that any effort to curate third-party content automatically converts the third-party content into first-party content so that it no longer qualifies for Section 230 immunity. Because every UGC service necessarily curates every content…
When It Comes to Section 230, the Ninth Circuit is a Chaos Agent–Estate of Bride v. YOLO
The Ninth Circuit is interpreting Section 230 again. Time to grab your tissue box. * * * The Jenga-ing of Section 230 continues in the Ninth Circuit. This time, the court blows up the Barnes precedent, which created a promissory…