Section 230 Protects Classifying Non-Competitive Software as a Threat–Asurvio v. Malwarebytes
Section 230(c)(2)(B) says that filtering software makers aren’t liable for their classification decisions. This proposition provides the legal foundation for the anti-threat software industry. However, those expectations were disrupted by the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 in Enigma v. Malwarebytes, which held…
First Voters Reject Tulsi Gabbard, Then a Judge Does–Gabbard v. Google
Super Tuesday wasn’t so super for Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. First, she polled less than 1%–territory usually occupied by withdrawn or fringe candidates. Though, remarkably, she did earn two delegates. Mind blown. Second, the same day, a court completely…
YouTube Isn’t a State Actor (DUH)–PragerU v. Google
We live in an upside-down world where “conservatives” are actively seeking to impose must-carry obligations on Internet services by characterizing them as state actors. These arguments are ill-considered as “conservative” doctrine because they would massively expand the scope of government…
Yelp Finally Defeats a False Advertising Lawsuit Over Its Review Functionality–Demetriades v. Yelp
This is a long-running case against Yelp initiated by a restaurant in Mammoth Lakes. I first blogged the case in 2013 when the lower court granted Yelp’s anti-SLAPP motion; I also blogged it in 2014 when the appellate court reversed…
New Paper Explains How FOSTA Devastated Male Sex Workers
I call your attention to a new article: David Eichert (a JD/PhD student), “‘It Ruined My Life’: FOSTA, Male Escorts, and the Construction of Sexual Victimhood in American Politics,” 26 Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law 201 (Winter…
FOSTA Constitutional Challenge Revived–Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. US
The DC Circuit revived the EFF-led constitutional challenge to FOSTA, holding that at least two of the plaintiffs have standing. This raises the specter that key parts of FOSTA might still be struck down as unconstitutional. Among other things, FOSTA…
New Civil FOSTA Lawsuits Push Expansive Legal Theories Against Unexpected Defendants (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Alex Yelderman In the year and two-thirds since it was signed into law, FOSTA has reputedly shattered online networks that sex workers relied upon to keep safe, crippled human trafficking investigations, and scared websites into taking down…
Section 230 Helps Salesforce Defeat Sex Trafficking Lawsuit–Doe v. Salesforce
Salesforce provided SaaS services to Backpage. On that basis, the plaintiffs sought to hold Salesforce liable for any Backpage-caused sex trafficking victimization. This represents an attempt (possibly unprecedented) to impose tertiary liability for sex trafficking. The advertisers, such as pimps,…
State Court Rejects Prager University’s Lawsuit Against YouTube
Prager University publishes videos on YouTube. YouTube demonetized some of its videos and placed some in “restricted mode,” meaning that users of YouTube’s restricted mode functionality won’t see them. Prager claimed that YouTube took these steps due to anti-conservative bias,…
Your Periodic Reminder that Blogging About Litigation Can Generate More Litigation–Wexler v. Dorsey & Whitney
As I’ve mentioned many times, blogging about lawsuits has its own legal peril. By definition, I’m commenting on people who’ve shown a willingness to litigate, so there’s a higher-than-average chance they will want to litigate against me. Though I’m quite…