BBB Defeats Defamation Lawsuit (After 7 Years)–Better Way v. BBB
A Better Way Wholesale Autos sells cars “as is.” Some buyers who experienced mechanical problems nevertheless felt hornswoggled, and over 100 of them complained to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The vendor sued BBB because the low ratings were allegedly…
Previewing the “Lessons from the First Internet Ages” Symposium
As I mentioned, I’m part of a team organizing a special virtual event called the “Lessons from the First Internet Ages Symposium.” The event starts tomorrow 10am Pacific, and it’s not too late to sign up! The event will explore…
Trump’s Must-Carry Lawsuit Against Twitter Moved to Twitter’s Home Court–Trump v. Twitter
As you recall, in July, Trump sued Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for “deplatforming” him. As expected (see image to the right), YouTube successfully transferred its case to the Northern District of California. Now Twitter has done the same. (A reminder…
Government Jawboning Doesn’t Turn Internet Services into State Actors–Doe v. Google
The plaintiffs are “conservative content creators” (i.e., QAnon enthusiasts) who posted videos to YouTube. YouTube suspended their accounts. The plaintiffs sued for First Amendment violations (presumably a 1983 claim). The court previously denied a TRO. YouTube now gets the case…
Anti-Zionist Loses Lawsuit Over Social Media Account Suspensions–Martillo v. Facebook
Martillo claims that six social media services suspended his accounts because he is an anti-Zionist. He sued for Title II discrimination. The court responds: “the defendants’ social media platforms are not places of ‘public accommodation.’ The statutory definition of a…
There Is No Bottom When It Comes to Section 230 Reform Proposals (Comments on the Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act)
When I first saw the Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act. my draft version didn’t identify its sponsors. I assumed it was yet another sloppy and unserious Section 230 reform proposal from representatives like Rep. Gosar or Gohmert. You can imagine…
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…