When It Comes to Section 230, the Ninth Circuit is a Chaos Agent--Estate of Bride v. YOLO

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…

Glassdoor Denied Section 230 Immunity for Reviews from Non-Employees--Nicholas Air v. Glassdoor

Glassdoor Denied Section 230 Immunity for Reviews from Non-Employees–Nicholas Air v. Glassdoor

This is a confusing case with the troubling outcome that Glassdoor could be liable for third-party reviews despite Section 230. The case is confusing in part because it involves two companies that seem like they are alter egos of each…

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Key Part of the CA Age-Appropriate Design Code (the Rest is TBD)--NetChoice v. Bonta

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Key Part of the CA Age-Appropriate Design Code (the Rest is TBD)–NetChoice v. Bonta

The California Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) is a “think of the kids” law that nominally purports to protect kids’ privacy. However, as I will explain in my forthcoming Segregate-and-Suppress article, it hurts children and advances censorship…so it’s just bad policy–and…

Section 230 Helps Substack Defeat a Defamation Claim--Smith v. Substack

Section 230 Helps Substack Defeat a Defamation Claim–Smith v. Substack

This case involves the CancelWatch “blog” on Substack, which says: “We report the activists trying to ruin people’s lives and careers.” In July 2023, it made a post entitled “Oliver D. Smith” that details Smith’s online activities and explains why…

Section 230 Doesn't Preempt Utah's Minor Protection in Social Media Act--NetChoice v. Reyes

Section 230 Doesn’t Preempt Utah’s Minor Protection in Social Media Act–NetChoice v. Reyes

Utah passed a terrible law claiming to be “for the kids,” which are increasingly prevalent at the state level. The court summarizes some of the law’s obligations: the Act requires covered websites to “implement an age assurance system,” “limit the…

Court Blows Up Gmail's Section 230 Protection, But Allegations of Biased Spam Filtering Still Fail--Republican National Committee v. Google

Court Blows Up Gmail’s Section 230 Protection, But Allegations of Biased Spam Filtering Still Fail–Republican National Committee v. Google

Prior blog post. If I say so myself, it was a really good post–you should read it first and then read this post. In my prior post, I wrote: “I hope you enjoy these 2,800 words on legal topics you…

Government Agencies Can't Use Dumb Word Filters to Screen Social Media Comments--PETA v. Tabak

Government Agencies Can’t Use Dumb Word Filters to Screen Social Media Comments–PETA v. Tabak

PETA promotes its animal rights agenda by making lots of online comments, an advocacy technique that may cross over from being aggressive to being annoying. In this case, they were such a nuisance on NIH’s Facebook and Instagram posts that…

Google Can Terminate Account Based on CSAM Allegations–Baker v. Google

The scenario: Google thought that a user uploaded CSAM and terminated her account. The user disagreed, appealed, and got nowhere. The user took the matter to court (pro se), where the lawsuit failed: Contract Breach. “Plaintiff does not allege any…

Section 230 Preempts FOSTA Claim--Doe v. WebGroup Czech Republic

Section 230 Preempts FOSTA Claim–Doe v. WebGroup Czech Republic

This is a FOSTA case. It reached the 9th Circuit on personal jurisdiction grounds. The 9th Circuit held that some foreign defendants were subject to jurisdiction. On remand, the court dismisses the remaining defendants primarily due to Section 230, with…

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Moody v. NetChoice Supreme Court Opinion

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Moody v. NetChoice Supreme Court Opinion

Normally, when a major Internet Law development occurs, I write two posts. First, I write up a quick hit for the media. See my short statement on the Moody v. NetChoice. decision. I then follow up with a comprehensive blog…