Section 512(c) Protects Pinterest Despite Its Algorithms–Davis v. Pinterest
“Plaintiff contends that Pinterest has infringed the copyrights of 51 of his works by displaying these works in proximity to advertisements and by displaying and distributing them to users via notifications.” The court gives this screenshot as an example. Davis’…
Facebook Can’t Shake Publicity Rights Claim–Hepp v. Facebook
Third parties created ads featuring Hepp without her consent. From the complaint (Hepp is the upper right image; the photo was taken from security camera footage): Facebook ran some of the ads featuring Hepp’s image. The district court dismissed Hepp’s…
Constitutional Challenge to FOSTA Fails–Woodhull v. US
The EFF is leading a constitutional challenge to FOSTA. The district court initially rejected standing, but the DC Circuit reversed that decision in 2020 and found standing for at least two plaintiffs. On remand, the district court rejects all of…
Account Suspension Lawsuit Against Twitter Survives Motion to Dismiss–Berenson v. Twitter
This case involves Alex Berenson, a one-time NY Times reporter who drifted into #MAGAland. On Twitter and elsewhere, Berenson downplayed the risks of COVID and questioned the safety of the COVID vaccines. Unlike most Twitter users, Berenson was high-profile enough…
Section 230 Helps Facebook Defeat Lawsuit Over Scam Ads–Calise v. Meta
The plaintiffs allege that Facebook runs third-party ads for scammy third-party merchant websites. One plaintiff claims a merchant didn’t send the ordered goods as described. Another plaintiff claimed that a merchant never sent any goods at all. The plaintiffs sued…
Another Failed Lawsuit Over Facebook’s Content Removals–Brock v. Zuckerberg
Facebook allegedly removed 30+ of the plaintiff’s posts. The plaintiff sued Facebook for constitutional violations and other claims. The district court dismissed the lawsuit. The Second Circuit affirms. State Action. Brock argued that Facebook is a state actor because it is…
Catching Up on a FOSTA Case–ML v. Craigslist
This is one of many FOSTA cases in process. They are all quite complicated and hard to understand. This particular lawsuit targets Craigslist even though Craigslist shut down its adult services category in 2010, eight years before FOSTA was enacted,…
Catching Up on the Challenge to Texas’ Social Media Censorship Law–NetChoice v. Paxton
I’m continuing coverage of the legal challenge to Texas’ social media censorship law, now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. I recently rounded up the Texas opening brief and its supporting amici briefs. In this post, I’ll round up the…
Facebook Loses Jurisdictional Ruling in Texas Sex Trafficking Lawsuit–Facebook v. Doe
After Facebook ill-advisedly helped FOSTA pass, in 2018 it was sued using FOSTA for facilitating sex trafficking in Texas state court. Facebook tried to end the lawsuit using Section 230. This resulted in a Texas Supreme Court opinion reluctantly granting…
Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Quote-Tweeting–US Dominion v. Byrne
This is one of the many cases related to Trump’s coup attempt. Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock (a store I will never shop at), made many posts about Dominion’s voting machines and alleged election fraud. Dominion sued Byrne for…