Internet Law Professors Ask California Supreme Court To Review Pharmaceutical Liability Case
Hardin v. PDX is a quirky case that flew under the radar a bit. The case was brought by Hardin, a victim injured by bad drug interactions. She claims that she would have avoided the interaction if she had been…
Section 230 Applies to Amazon Book Reviews–Joseph v. Amazon
As I’ve recently mentioned, many recent Section 230 rulings involve pro se plaintiffs because most lawyers have wizened up to Section 230’s immunity. In this case, Dr. Joseph, a pro se plaintiff, brings a long list of gripes about Amazon…
Online Marketplaces Facilitating Gun Sales Don’t Kill People. People Kill People (Forbes Cross-Post)
We’re seeing increasing attempts to hold online marketplaces responsible for illegal user transactions on their site. A recent federal appellate ruling rejected one such lawsuit involving an online gun marketplace transaction that led to a murder. What Happened After his…
Primer on European Union’s Right To Be Forgotten (Excerpt from My Internet Law Casebook) + Bonus Linkwrap
I haven’t yet written about the ECJ Right to Be Forgotten ruling directly, though I’ve already referenced it on the blog a few times. The ruling itself came out during a business trip when I was tied up, so I…
Copying Blogger’s Posts In Disciplinary Proceeding Is Fair Use–Denison v. Larkin
The plaintiff, JoAnne M. Denison, is an Illinois attorney and operated a blog, MaryGSykes.com. Denison blogged about a guardianship case she believed was marred by corruption. The Illinois attorney disciplinary board alleged that she made false statements on her blog…
Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights Compared to Section 230 (Excerpt from My Internet Law Casebook)
I recently announced the release of my 2014 Internet Law casebook. For this year’s edition, I added a module exploring comparative intermediary liability, explaining how Section 230 differs from some other intermediary regulatory schemes adopted around the globe. Below, I’ve…
Fining Customers For Negative Online Reviews Isn’t New…Or Smart (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, we learned that a New York hotel, the Union Street Guest House, was fining guests $500 for posting negative online reviews. The story received considerable media attention because the restriction violates our social norms and is almost certainly…
Conviction for Posting Pages From Teenager’s Diary Via Mail and Facebook Partially Reversed
The defendant, Teri Buhl, was prosecuted under a bizarre set of facts. Buhl, a journalist, was in a relationship with P (the opinion does not identify him, but Buhl’s account of the case, linked below, does). P’s daughter kept a…
Does Yelp Have The ‘Most Trusted Reviews’? A Court Wants To Know More (Forbes Cross-Post)
Few online algorithms generate as much criticism as Yelp’s algorithm for filtering its users’ reviews, but Yelp has so far successfully avoided a serious legal challenge to its filter. Recently, a California appellate court green-lighted a lawsuit over how Yelp…
Employee’s Discrimination Claim Can’t be Salvaged by Coworker’s Allegedly Inappropriate Facebook Post — Brown v Tyson Foods
This is another firing-for-Facebooking case. Plaintiff was an hourly employee in Tyson’s Nashville facility. In September 2012 she was initially suspended after a video surfaced of her “shaking her tail” and placing money in the shirt of a male co-worker….