What Does the “Water” Emoji Mean? Perhaps Not What You Think–US v Swanagan
[Just a reminder that there are no “off-limits” topics in Internet Law. So yes, this post is going to go there.] Law enforcement took down a methamphetamine ring in Kentucky. Based in part on Facebook messages between two defendants that…
Does Possession of Memes Show Criminal Intent?–People v. Watts
This is a rape case. Law enforcement found the following items on the defendant’s phone (warning–explicit and offensive descriptions): three photos with accompanying text, which the State argued expressed “the idea that a male has a right to have sexual…
When Do Defendants Have Access to Copyrighted Works Posted to the Internet?–Cooley v. Target Corp.
This case relates to Target’s “Cat & Jack” clothing line. The plaintiff, NOC, is a teenager who has copyrighted designs in hand-drawn dots that Target allegedly copied in the clothing line. Target and NOC had some direct dealings, including bringing…
Amending Your TOS? Better Use a Clickthrough Process, Not Email Notice–Alkutkar v. Bumble
Alkutkar used the dating app Bumble. He paid money to get extra visibility for his dating profile and claims he got poor results, so he sued Bumble for false advertising. Bumble successfully redirects the case to arbitration based on its…
When Will Courts Admit Rap Videos/Lyrics Posted to Social Media as Evidence?–US v. Wiley
The federal government is prosecuting Wiley for drug dealing. The government seeks to introduce as evidence YouTube videos that Wiley posted showing him “holding unknown sums of cash, sitting in or near various luxury vehicles, and performing rap songs that…
Messaging Apps Raise Tricky E-Discovery Issues (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Philip Favro Several recent court cases spotlight the challenges that messaging apps present in litigation. In particular, these cases show that messaging apps—whose features may cause message content to either be kept or deleted—have an outsized impact…
Snapchat May Have a Duty Not to Design Dangerous Software–Maynard v. Snap
The Georgia Supreme Court has issued a troubled, and troubling, opinion in Maynard v. Snap. The opinion will delight law professors who love geeking out about the elements of common law negligence claims. It will also inspire plaintiffs to bring…
A Glimmer of Hope That the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) Won’t Turn Into a Troll Factory
This is much-delayed blog coverage of the Copyright Office’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing “procedures related to conducting an active proceeding, post-determination review, smaller claims, and the conduct of parties.” The NPRM would allow (1) anyone in a corporate family…
2021 Emoji Law Year-in-Review
A recap of emoji law developments in 2021: Court References I maintain a dataset of US court opinions that reference emojis and emoticons. I have compiled the dataset using keyword alerts in Westlaw and Lexis, supplemented by a few opinions…
Twitter Can’t Quash a 512(h) Subpoena
This case involves the Twitter account “@CallMeMoneyBags,” a pseudonymous account. In October 2020, the user posted 6 tweets attacking Brian Sheth, a private equity billionaire, that included photos “depicting a woman or portions of a woman’s body.” The opinion doesn’t…