Section 230 Protects Securities Exchange–Saveene v. Remo
This case involves an alleged case of corporate hijacking. The plaintiff alleges that it bought a controlling interest in a corporate entity opaquely named American Diversified Holdings Corp. (“ADHC”) from Remo. Remo then allegedly dissolved the Nevada entity and, without…
Eleventh Circuit Rejects “Material Support for Terrorists” Case–Colon v. Twitter
This is one of the many lawsuits against social media services for allegedly providing material support to terrorists. These cases have all failed–with the partial exception of the Ninth Circuit meltdown (3 judges; 3 opinions) in Gonzalez v. Google LLC,…
Cloudflare Isn’t Liable for Providing Services to Alleged Infringers–Mon Cheri Bridals v. Cloudflare
The plaintiffs claim copyright ownership in wedding dress designs. They also claim that knockoff retailers are infringing those rights. Frustrated by the whack-a-mole enforcement efforts against individual retailers, the plaintiffs sued Cloudflare for providing support services to them, including caching,…
The SHOP SAFE Act Is a Terrible Bill That Will Eliminate Online Marketplaces
[Note: this blog post covers Rep. Nadler’s manager’s amendment for the SHOP SAFE Act, which I think will be the basis of a committee markup hearing tomorrow. If Congress were well-functioning, draft bills going into markup would be circulated a…
For the Third Time, a Second Circuit Panel Dismisses an Online Account Termination Case–Domen v. Vimeo
A 3-judge panel has issued its third opinion in Domen v. Vimeo, a lawsuit alleging that Vimeo committed unlawful discrimination by terminating his account. How does an appellate panel reach a third opinion in the same case? It issued its…
Yearbook Database Cases Are Vexing the Courts–Sessa v. Ancestry
This is another entry in the genre of publicity rights cases against commercial databases vending information about people. Courts are struggling with how to analyze these cases, especially in the context of paywalled yearbook databases. This ruling turns into a…
Third Circuit Says Section 230 Doesn’t Apply to Publicity Rights Claims–Hepp v. Facebook
The Third Circuit ruled today that Section 230 doesn’t preempt publicity rights claims because they qualify as “intellectual property” claims. This ruling directly conflicts with the Ninth Circuit’s rule, which says that all state IP claims are preempted by Section…
What I Did Last “Summer” (2021)
It’s time for my annual roundup of my “summer” publications beyond my blogging. Once again, I did not teach last Spring. So here’s what I’ve done in 2021 since I finished my Fall 2020 teaching obligations: Internet Law: Cases &…
Texas Enacts Social Media Censorship Law to Benefit Anti-Vaxxers & Spammers
State legislatures are competing with each other to see who can enact the most ill-advised laws to impose censorship on the Internet. Florida made a splash enacting its social media censorship bill SB 7072, only to have a federal district…
Florida and Its Amici Try to Justify Government Censorship in the 11th Circuit–NetChoice v. Moody
Earlier this year, Florida enacted a wide-ranging, complex, poorly drafted, and enthusiastically censorial law, SB7072. Among other problems, the law dictates how “social media platforms” can make their editorial decisions. Fortunately, a Florida federal judge blocked Florida’s social media censorship…