Google Play Defeats Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Bank Charges--Harvey v. Google

In March 2013, Susan Harvey bought a game via Google Play, which required her to electronically link her bank account. She alleges that hundreds of unauthorized charges hit her bank account, totaling thousands of dollars. Google allegedly offered to make…

When Does A Parody Twitter Account Constitute Criminal Identity Theft?--Sims v. Monaghan

Plaintiff, while he was in custody, created a fake Twitter account in the name of “Frank Zamiara” with the user name “LitlZeezy”. The account “was meant to act as the voice and alter ego of [an] abusive deputy.” It was…

Are Legal Restrictions On Disparaging Personal Names Unconstitutional?--In re The Slants (Guest Blog Post)

By Guest Blogger Laura Heymann [Eric’s introduction: Prof. Heymann has spent more time thinking about the Law of Naming People and Things than anyone else I know. I asked her to weigh in on the potential implications of the Federal…

TCPA Claim Against Non-Sender Fails

Plaintiffs sued American Eagle Outfitters and Experian, alleging claims under the TCPA for unwanted text messages. American Eagle is the retailer, and Experian provides marketing services. But neither of these entities actually pressed the “send” button. We’ve seen disputes over…

No Fee Shift In Bogus Lawsuit Against Review Website--Roca v. PissedConsumer

In October, a court issued a really interesting and decisive Section 230 defense win. I ran out of time to blog it, but a recent follow-on ruling gives me an opportunity to ccover both rulings. The October Ruling Roca Labs…

Senate Passes Consumer Review Freedom Act

As you recall, the Consumer Review Freedom Act would prevent businesses from restricting consumers’ reviews of their businesses. This week, the Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent. On the floor, the sponsors introduced a new version of the bill….

Can YouTube 'Remove And Relocate' User Videos Capriciously?--Darnaa v. Google (Forbes Cross-Post)

Most of us uploading YouTube videos aren’t deeply invested in their continued availability. If YouTube removed our videos or relocated them to a different URL, we might be puzzled why but otherwise would probably shrug our shoulders. However, YouTube is…

Hackers Could Take Control Of Your Car, But You Can't Sue Carmakers For That Risk (Forbes Cross-Post)

Cars contain millions of lines of software code, which makes them tempting targets for hackers. Further, with the increased automation of cars, we face growing risks that malicious hackers will remotely take control of cars and cause significant personal or…

Third Circuit Revives TCPA Case Against Yahoo

A Yahoo user alleged that he purchased a phone that came with a preassigned telephone number. The previous subscriber of this number apparently set his account so emails sent to his Yahoo account triggered a text message to this phone…

Stockholders Can't Sue Yelp Because Of Fake Reviews (Forbes Cross-Post)

Are there fake user reviews on Yelp? Sure–Yelp freely admits it. Nevertheless, plaintiffs have attempted a variety of legal theories to hold Yelp legally responsible for those fake reviews. Recently, a federal court shut down one of those lawsuits, holding…