Facebook Beats Privacy Lawsuit Alleging Persistent Tracking
This is a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that it tracked people visiting websites throughout the web even if they were not logged on to Facebook. As the court describes the allegations, Facebook uses a persistent cookie that tracks a person’s…
Anti-Employer Chatter On Facebook Protected By NLRA–Triple Play v. NLRB
We previously blogged about this case, which involved employees who were discharged by Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille (the employer) for their Facebook activity: “NLRB Invalidates Employer’s Blogging Policy And Reverses Firing Based On Facebook Posts“. On appeal, the…
App Users Aren’t “Subscribers” Under the VPPA–Ellis v. Cartoon Network
Many VPPA cases involve free online streaming services. Here, plaintiff alleged that he downloaded the Cartoon Network app, and Cartoon Network then disclosed to Bango, an ad network, plaintiff’s device ID and the videos he viewed. Plaintiff also alleged that Bango…
The Perkins v. LinkedIn Class Action Settlement Notification Was Badly Bungled (Forbes Cross-Post)
Recently, millions of LinkedIn users received an email titled “LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION.” The email told recipients about a proposed class action settlement in Perkins v. LinkedIn, involving “LinkedIn’s alleged improper use of a service called ‘Add…
Threatening to Post Sex Video to Facebook Isn’t a True Threat
Two post-Elonis cases show divergent approaches to true threat and harassment jurisprudence. Harrell v. State (Georgia): Harrell was charged and convicted of attempting to intimidating a court officer and animal cruelty. Apparently, he was charged with some violations as a…
Disparate Enforcement of Social Media Policy May Support Discrimination Claim
This is a Facebook termination case alleging discrimination by the employer. Plaintiff Chris Redford worked at KTBS as an on-air crime reporter. The station apparently had a social media policy that instructed employees to not respond to viewer complaints on social…
You Can’t Buy A Copyright Just To Bury It–Katz v. Chevaldina (Forbes Cross-Post)
In the United States, copyright law principally serves as an economic policy by protecting creators’ ability to recoup the investments they make in generating new works that have value to society. As a result, copyright law gets weird when it’s…
Qualified Immunity Bars Claims Based on Search of Student’s Facebook Account and Discipline for Private Messages
MJ was a high school student and cheerleader. On a school trip to a local news station to promote a charitable cause, the squad was told to be quiet by the cameraman. MJ apparently did not, and the captain of the…
Local Hosting and the Draft “Trade in Services Agreement” (Guest Blog Post)
by Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The leaked draft of the Trade in Services Agreement (“TiSA”) – the agreement that is being negotiated by a number of countries, including the United States – has attracted intense criticism: Glyn Moody on ArsTechnica UK…
Ninth Circuit Rejects Video Privacy Protection Act Claims Against Sony
This lawsuit asserts Sony failed to purge Video Privacy Protection Act-covered information and made impermissible transfers to an affiliated entity. The district court dismissed, among other reasons, because it found the VPPA did not create a cause of action for…