Two Common but Disingenuous Phrases About Section 230
[I initially planned to write up this analysis as a short academic essay. If you’re interested in working with me to adapt this blog post into an academic essay format, email me.] This blog post is about the following two…
Section 230 Immunizes Bing’s Search Results–White v. Microsoft
This lawsuit relates to an episode of the TV show Evil Lives Here called “I Invited Him In,” which discusses an NY serial killer named Nathaniel White. A different Nathaniel White claimed that the episode improperly featured his mugshot and…
Twitter Account Suspension Lawsuits Keep Failing–Hall v. Twitter
This case involves a Twitter account held by Daniel Hall, who also used the aliases “Senza Vergogna” and “Sensa Verogna.” [Note: I believe those aliases reference an Italian movie about a son who engages in incest with his mom.] Hall…
DMCA 512(c) Safe Harbor Doesn’t Apply to Photo Embedding–Great Bowery v. Best Little Sites
This case involves Annie Leibovitz photos, represented by licensing and enforcement agency Trunk Archive. Allegedly, users of comicbookmovie.com (CBM) embedded the Leibovitz photos into the site by linking to the images hosted on third-party sites. Once CBM learned of the…
The Ninth Circuit’s FOSTA Jurisprudence Is Getting Clearer (and More Defense-Favorable)
As you know, FOSTA was a poorly drafted statute with terrible policy outcomes. We’re still working through the first wave of litigation testing Congress’ poor handiwork. Last October, in Doe v. Reddit, the Ninth Circuit issued an important ruling interpreting…
Microsoft Can Terminate User Account for Allegedly Possessing CSAM. But What If It Made a Mistake?–Deutsch v. Microsoft
The plaintiff (a NY lawyer/financial executive?) allegedly uploaded CSAM to his Microsoft OneDrive folder in violation of Microsoft’s “Code of Conduct.” [Nomenclature note: CSAM is what used to be called child porn; the case calls it CSEAI]. Allegedly, PhotoDNA detected…
Twitter Defeats Account Suspension Case–Craft v. Musk
The opinion summarizes the allegations: Defendants Twitter, Inc. and its CEO, Elon Musk, violated his First Amendment rights by blocking his Twitter account twice, for a period of seven days each, in February and March 2023. According to Plaintiff, he…
New Article: “The United States’ Approach to ‘Platform’ Regulation”
I’ve posted a new 5,000 word article, The United States’ Approach to “Platform” Regulation. The abstract: This paper summarizes the United States’ legal framework governing Internet “platforms” that publish third-party content. It highlights three key features of U.S. law: the…
Service Provider to a Ponzi Scheme Operation Qualifies for Section 230–Wiand v. ATC Brokers
[This opinion was issued 6 months ago, but it just showed up in my alerts.] This case involves an alleged Ponzi scheme involving foreign currency exchanges (“forex”). In addition to the direct participants in the scheme, the CFTC pursued Spotex,…
Services Aren’t Liable for Ignoring the DMCA’s 512(g) Counternotification Procedures–Hopson v. Google
This case involves a UGC anime site called Gelbooru, run by Hopson. Rightsowners sent DMCA takedown notices targeting the site to Google. (Lumen has many takedown notices containing the word “Gelbooru”). Google stripped out the notices’ identifying information and forwarded…