Internet Feuds Are Basically Defamation-Free Warzones–Rapaport v. Barstool
[WARNING: this post contains coarser-than-usual content.] This case involves actor Michael Rapaport, who has appeared in many popular TV shows and movies. Apparently he’s edgy in real life, which he demonstrated through a CBS Radio show. Barstool Productions “has cultivated…
There Are Multiple Types of “Clickwrap.” They Should All Be Enforceable–Calderon v. Sixt
This case involves rental car contracts. Typically, a rental car company can form a contract at three different times: when making an online reservation, when actually completing the reservation in person (nowadays, usually it’s an electronic signature on a point-of-sale…
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Fair Use in Google-Oracle Software Battle (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa [BONUS: Prof. Ochoa will be speaking on this case April 13, 6pm Pacific. Free registration.] On April 5, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-2 that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of code from the Java…
Section 230 Preempts Contract Breach Claims–Morton v. Twitter
This case involves the model Genevieve Morton. She created nude images and sold them at her website. An interloper, SpyIRL, tweeted some of the images. Morton asked Twitter to remove the images and suspend the accounts. Twitter removed the images…
Another Must-Carry Lawsuit Against YouTube Fails–Daniels v Alphabet
[I’ll discuss Justice Thomas’ latest bonkers statement later this week] Daniels, a/k/a “Young Pharoah,” posted videos to YouTube, apparently of the #MAGA genre. YouTube removed some videos, allegedly “shadowbanned” him (again, I raise questions whether that’s the appropriate term here),…
Section 230 (Mostly) Protects Zoom from Liability for Zoombombing
This is a privacy class action against Zoom. The opinion has several points of interest for privacy practitioners. I’m going to focus only on the court’s discussion of Zoom’s liability for Zoombombing, the COVID-era problem where malefactors crash a Zoom…
Consent Via “Clickwrap” Defeats Privacy Claims–Javier v. Assurance
Javier got a life insurance quote from Assurance. It appears this page contained javascript served from a vendor named ActiveProspect (via a service called “TrustedForm”), which tracks each user on Assurance’s site and records the users’ keystrokes. For Assurance, these…
Important Second Circuit Opinion Says Section 230(c)(2)(A) Protects Online Account Terminations–Domen v. Vimeo
Vimeo is a video hosting service. Domen is a “former homosexual.” He posted videos to Vimeo that allegedly violated Vimeo’s policy against “the promotion of sexual orientation change efforts” (SOCE). Vimeo notified Domen of the violation and gave him 24…
Catching Up on the Parler v. AWS Dispute
I blogged Parler’s unsuccessful request to get injunctive relief preventing AWS’s termination of Parler as a customer. Since then, Parler dismissed the federal court lawsuit, filed a state court lawsuit, AWS removed the second lawsuit to federal court, and the…
Social Media Ownership Disputes Part II: Bridal Wear Company Takes Back Control of Instagram Account from Ex-Employee
This is Part II of a review of recent social media ownership disputes. In Part I, I looked at how the Satanic Temple of Washington could not use the CFAA or ACPA to get its Facebook accounts back. Part II…