As Expected, Malwarebytes Defeats Enigma’s Lawsuit Without Section 230’s Help
Malwarebytes and Enigma offer competitive anti-threat software. Malwarebytes classified Enigma’s software as a “potentially unwanted program,” or PUP, and quarantined the programs. Enigma sued Malwarebytes for that classification/quarantine. Initially, the district court dismissed the case on Section 230(c)(2)(B) grounds. In…
Online ‘Diatribe’ Over a Birthday Cake Isn’t Protected by Anti-SLAPP Law–Woodhill Ventures v. Yang
The court opinion starts: “This case is about a birthday cake.” Ben “Baller” Yang, blinger to some stars, and his wife threw a birthday party for their 7 year old child, London (is this London’s Instagram page?). The wife ordered…
Twitter’s Content Moderation Explanations Aren’t Defamatory Per Se–Isaac v. Twitter
This lawsuit involves a NY Post article about Hunter Biden’s connections with Ukranian businessmen. The “smoking gun” evidence purportedly came from Hunter Biden’s laptop that he allegedly abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop run by the plaintiff. The plaintiff,…
Cable News Shows Are Defamation-Free Zones–OANN v. Maddow
This lawsuit involves the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Based on a story from the Daily Beast, Maddow ran a segment claiming that an OANN employee was on the Kremlin’s payroll, concluding that OANN “really literally is paid Russian propaganda.”…
Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Discriminatory Housing Ads–Vargas v. Facebook
This lawsuit alleges that Facebook is liable for Fair Housing Act discrimination purportedly enabled by its self-service advertising tools. The court grants Facebook’s motion to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint. I believe this case is now ready for a Ninth…
Court Nopes Another Lawsuit Over Facebook Suspensions–Orders v. Facebook
Plaintiff Frank Orders “posted a picture of Hunter Biden with two prostitutes on his Facebook page. The black-and-white picture attached to the Complaint shows a male lying naked on a bed with two naked females sitting on top of the…
Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Yearbook Website’s Ads–Knapke v. Classmates
Classmates offers paywalled access to yearbook info. Classmates allows free searches, and the “search results provide a free preview of the services and products with a photo and name of an individual to entice the user to purchase Classmates’ services…
An Initial Look at Washington’s New Anti-SLAPP Statute
Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute was struck down by the Washington State Supreme Court in May 2015. Effective July 25, 2021, Washington has a new anti-SLAPP statute. My summary of the statute: Scope of coverage: The statute applies to causes of action…
Interview About Section 230 and COVID Misinformation
[I did another interview with Mathew Ingram at Galley by CJR] Ingram: Eric, thanks very much for doing this. I know we’ve discussed Section 230 before on Galley, so I don’t want to go over old ground, but is there…
Blogger Defeats Defamation Claims–Buckley v. Moore
The plaintiff Buckley runs “Top Gun Options,” a site that purportedly teaches users how to trade options. The defendant Moore runs a blog called “TradingSchools.org,” which purportedly does independent reviews of investment products. Moore shot down Top Gun Options in…