Blogger Defeats Defamation Claims Over Posts Claiming a “Scam”–RainSoft v. MacFarland
Brian MacFarland runs a blog, lazymanandmoney.com. For his own home, he held an in-home demonstration of a RainSoft water softener system by Oster, a salesperson at a local distributor, Basement Technologies. (I’m not sure about that brand!). MacFarland was skeptical…
Good News! USMCA (a/k/a NAFTA 2.0) Embraces Section 230-Like Internet Immunity
There’s a lot to digest in the USMCA, the NAFTA 2.0 replacement that shall not be called NAFTA. This post focuses on one piece: USMCA Article 19.17 requires its signatories to adopt Internet immunity provisions similar to Section 230. (I…
Another Social Media “Material Support to Terrorists” Lawsuit Fails–Cain v. Twitter
This is one of the many cases against social media platforms alleging that they provided “material support” to terrorists. As a group, these lawsuits have gone nowhere, and this one doesn’t either. ATA Direct Liability. As with other cases, the…
Twitter Isn’t Liable for Impersonation Account–Dehen v. Doe
Tiffany Dehen is a 2016 alumna of University of San Diego’s law school. Her website declares that she is “a true American and Patriotic Trump Supporter,” and her photo album includes a photo of her smiling with Dinesh D’Souza. She claims…
Section 230’s Success in Under-the-Radar Cases
For every high-stakes Section 230 case that gets widespread coverage, I see many other low-profile cases–often pro se–where Section 230 works as we all expect. These rulings usually aren’t super-interesting because they confirm the status quo. However, they provide a…
Vermont’s “Revenge Porn” Crime Survives Constitutional Challenge–State v. VanBuren
Like many other states, Vermont has a relatively new crime against nonconsensual pornography (NCP) dissemination. A lower court ruled that the crime was facially unconstitutional. The state appealed. In this ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court grants the “extraordinary” relief of…
California Lawmakers Want a Study of Fake News (If Someone Else Pays for It)
“Fake news” is a defining fear about our post-factual Trumpian era, which makes it important enough (or perceived to be so) that government regulators surely must do something about it. In response, the California legislature, demonstrating its characteristic leadership on…
Comments on Trump’s Empty Tweetstorm Threatening Social Media Providers
[Over the weekend, a reporter asked me to provide up to 300 words about Trump’s weekend tweetstorm threatening to regulate social media provider due to their alleged bias against conservatives. In light of subsequent events, it’s now clearer that Trump…
“Material Support for Terrorists” Lawsuit Against YouTube Fails Again–Gonzalez v. Google
This is one of numerous lawsuits against social media providers, seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks because they publish third party-provided terrorist-related content. These lawsuits have gone nowhere, including this one. I blogged the dismissal of the Second…
Twitter Gets Powerful Win in “Must-Carry” Lawsuit–Taylor v. Twitter
This is one of several lawsuits brought by disseminators of anti-social content (in this case, white supremacist content) seeking to prevent social media providers from cutting them off. In June, the lower court surprisingly rejected Twitter’s dismissal motion for the…