Section 230 Doesn’t Apply to “Editorializing” About Third-Party Content–Marvin v. Lanctot
This case involves the Warroad High School girls’ hockey team. Warroad, Minnesota is located just a few miles south of the Canadian border, near the Northwest Angle, and hockey appears to be a big thing in town (e.g., the town…
Defamation Claim Proceeds Against YouTuber’s Denialism–Robertson v. Upchurch
This case involves Ryan Upchurch, who Wikipedia describes as “an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and comedian.” He has 3M+ followers at YouTube. For unspecified reasons, Upchurch started discussing the tragic and highly publicized disappearance of Kiely Rodni on his YouTube channel….
A Peek Into the Long Tail of Facebook’s Litigation Docket
I’ve retired my old Quick Links format, so instead I’m rounding up a couple of Facebook cases that hit my alerts. Georgia Auto Group LLC v. Meta Platforms Inc., 2024 WL 2260718 (M.D. Ga. May 17, 2024) I’m blogging this…
Section 230 Preempts Product Design Claims–Lama v. Meta
The court summarizes: Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed “to implement a child protective procedure whereby parents, school personnel, and other children[-]responsible persons would be able to protect against online bullying wherein the defendants’ products were foreseeably weaponized to facilitate online…
Supreme Court Addresses When Government Employees’ Social Media Accounts are State Action (Lindke & Garnier)
[This post got stuck in my drafts folder…sharing it now for completeness] I see many cases against government employees for posting and moderating content on social media. The topic is a doctrinal morass because many details can affect the analysis….
The 7th Circuit’s Section 230 Jurisprudence’s Impact on FOSTA Cases
Last August, in GG v. Salesforce, a split Seventh Circuit panel ruled that Salesforce didn’t qualify for Section 230 in a FOSTA case. I never blogged that opinion for two reasons. First, it came at a busy time (I was…
Trump’s Retweets Are Criminal Contempt of a Gag Order–People v. Trump
As you surely know, the state of New York is prosecuting Donald Trump for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with the hush-payments to Stormy Daniels. The judge overseeing the case is well aware of Trump’s shambolic approach to high-stakes…
Why Generative AI is Doomed
I was honored to deliver this year’s Nies Lecture at Marquette University Law School, with the provocative (but, I hope, accurately descriptive) title “Generative AI is Doomed.” My remarks. This is my first contribution to the AI academic literature. As…
Zuckerberg Avoids Personal Liability for Social Media “Addiction”–In re Social Media Addiction
I never blogged the dual state and federal rulings in the Social Media Addiction cases from last Fall. I wrote up a 4,000 word draft about the state court ruling, but the federal ruling came out before I finished it….
Jawboning Defendants Are 6-for-6 in the Ninth Circuit–Hart v. Facebook
This is a routine jawboning case. Facebook and Twitter allegedly shut down Hart’s accounts for disseminating COVID misinformation. Hart claims he was targeted by the government. The district court dismissed the case (1, 2). The Ninth Circuit affirms in a…