The Anticipated Domino Effect: Virginia Passes Second State “Comprehensive” Privacy Law (Guest Blog Post)

The Anticipated Domino Effect: Virginia Passes Second State “Comprehensive” Privacy Law (Guest Blog Post)

by guest blogger Tanya Forsheit Virginia has officially become the second state in the country to enact what many have called a “comprehensive” privacy law, the Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”), with Governor Northam’s signature on March 2, 2021. For…

Data Breach Plaintiff Doesn't Have Standing in the Absence of Fraud or Identity Theft--Tsao v. Captiva

Data Breach Plaintiff Doesn’t Have Standing in the Absence of Fraud or Identity Theft–Tsao v. Captiva

This is a data breach lawsuit. Plaintiff was a patron of a restaurant (PDQ) that suffered a breach that compromised credit card payment information. The breach occurred because a hacker gained access to customer data through “an outside vendor’s remote…

Ninth Circuit Sends Alexa Surreptitious Recording Case to Arbitration--Tice v. Amazon

Ninth Circuit Sends Alexa Surreptitious Recording Case to Arbitration–Tice v. Amazon

Lawsuits over voice-activated assistants (and other smart home devices) are interesting. Plaintiffs have been creative about who asserts the claims to navigate around the issue that often sinks class actions: arbitration. This has resulted in claims brought by neighbors, spouses,…

Facebook Isn’t Liable for Account Hack/Hijack–Damner v. Facebook

This is a pro se lawsuit. Damner claims his Facebook account was hacked in April 2020 and the hacker(s) took it over. He notified Facebook but allegedly it never responded. Damner sued Facebook for Stored Communications Act claims and others….

YouTube Defeats Lawsuit Over Cryptocurrency Scam--Ripple v. YouTube

YouTube Defeats Lawsuit Over Cryptocurrency Scam–Ripple v. YouTube

Ripple Labs developed a cryptocurrency called XRP. Scammers phished verified YouTube accounts and then used the hijacked accounts to post YouTube videos–seemingly from Ripple–inducing consumers to transfer their XRP, where they were stolen. YouTube allegedly responded to takedown notices slowly….

Court Sends Wyze Labs Privacy Suit to Arbitration

Court Sends Wyze Labs Privacy Suit to Arbitration

Wyze provides home security monitoring and cameras. (They have a range of “smart home” products.) Plaintiffs sued Wyze on behalf of a putative class alleging that Wyze failed to safeguard their personal information. Wyze moved to compel arbitration. The court…

Facebook Can Block Scraper (For Now)–Facebook v. BrandTotal

BrandTotal offered a Chrome extension called “UpVoice.” Once installed, the extension allegedly scraped public and non-public information from the users’ Facebook and Instagram accounts. Facebook attempted to crack down on the extension. It terminated BrandTotal’s Facebook and Instagram pages and…

Yet Another Twitter Account Suspension Case Fails--Jones v. Twitter

Yet Another Twitter Account Suspension Case Fails–Jones v. Twitter

Jones had a Twitter account @aboxoffrogs. Twitter permanently suspended the account for hateful conduct. Jones sued Twitter (pro se) for (1) defamation, (2) tortious interference, (3) aiding and abetting, (4) conspiracy, (5) ratification, (6) retraction, (7) violation of Section 230(c),…

One Minute Spent Reviewing a Junk Fax Received via Email is Not Injury for Article III Purposes

One Minute Spent Reviewing a Junk Fax Received via Email is Not Injury for Article III Purposes

This is a junk fax case. Plaintiff (Daisy), a corporation, used Vonage to receive faxes. It received a junk fax, but rather than receiving it on its fax machine, Daisy received the fax via email, as a .pdf. Daisy alleged…

SF Chronicle Op-Ed: "Prop. 24 is the Wrong Policy Approach, at the Wrong Time, via the Wrong Process"

SF Chronicle Op-Ed: “Prop. 24 is the Wrong Policy Approach, at the Wrong Time, via the Wrong Process”

[I published this op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday] Most voters initially are inclined to support Prop. 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Everyone wants more privacy. But that initial support dissolves after careful scrutiny. Prop. 24 does…