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…
E*Trade Defeats Copyright Claim Over Dancing Old Man in Commercial–Vacchi v. E*Trade
Gianluca Vacchi is an Italian entrepreneur. He has a large social media presence, including nearly 12M Instagram followers and 1.8M Facebook followers. He claims his social media presence depicts a fictional alter ego who is “an extravagant millionaire dancing with…
Competitor Gets Pyrrhic Victory in False Advertising Suit Over Search Ads–Harbor Breeze v. Newport Fishing
The litigants compete in the whale watching industry in LA/Orange Counties. The plaintiffs operate out of Long Beach/San Pedro, the defendants out of Newport Beach. If you’re not familiar with the geography, Long Beach and Newport Beach are about 20…
New Jersey Attorney Ethics Opinion Blesses Competitive Keyword Advertising (…or Does It?)
In 2016, the Texas Bar issued an opinion decisively blessing competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. (Note: I define competitive keyword advertising as buying a rival’s name/brand as the trigger for ads without displaying the name/brand in the ad copy). At…
Another Competitive Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails–Dr. Greenberg v. Perfect Body Image
Dr. Stephen Greenberg is a plastic surgeon on Long Island. Perfect Body Image provides “non-surgical and non-invasive aesthetic services, including, among other things, laser treatments.” Perfect Body doesn’t have any doctors on staff. In addition to Stephen, at least two…