What Is It With “Kennedy” Politicians Bringing Weak Lawsuits Against Facebook?–Baldwin-Kennedy v. Meta
Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy, a lawyer, ran for the US Senate in Nevada as a Republican. She got less than 2,000 votes in the June 2024 primary. Now, she’s suing Meta for a variety of gripes related to her Facebook and Instagram…
Section 230 Defeats Underage User’s Lawsuit Against Grindr–Doll v. Pelphrey
This is another lawsuit against Grindr claiming that Grindr made it too easy for underage users to sign up and meet other users for sex. Thus, the plaintiff alleges “Grindr should have prevented C.D. from communicating with them by implementing…
Court Revives Indiana AG’s False Advertising Case Against TikTok–State v. TikTok
This is one of the many AG enforcement actions against social media for [reasons]. In this particular claim, the Indiana AG alleges that TikTok coaxed users to install its app on false pretenses, including deceptive omissions about its ties to…
Court Enjoins California’s Anti-“Political Deepfakes” Law (AB 2839) Because It’s Unconstitutional Censorship–Kohls v. Bonta
In September, California enacted AB 2839. It seeks to remove certain types of politically themed “materially deceptive content” (including “deepfakes” 🙄) during the election season, except for some labeled parodies and satire. The law provides a private right of action…
Five Decisions Illustrate How Section 230 Is Fading Fast
Section 230 cases are coming faster than I can blog them. This long blog post rounds up five defense losses, riddled with bad judicial errors. Given the tenor of these opinions, how are any plaintiffs NOT getting around Section 230…
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…