Criminal Cyberbullying Statute Violates First Amendment--New York v. Marquan

Albany County enacted a criminal cyberbulling statute, which defined cyberbulling as: any act of communicating or causing a communication to be sent by mechanical or electronic means, including posting statements on the internet or through a computer or email network,…

23andMe's Browsewrap Fails, But Its Post-Purchase Clickthrough Works Anyway--Tompkins v. 23andMe

You may recall 23andMe’s legal troubles last Fall, when the FDA launched a big smackdown over selling genetic tests. In the wake of the FDA takedown, the class action lawyers moved in for their cash grab. 23andMe defended with an…

Are We Going To See An Explosion Of Food Labeling Lawsuits?--POM v. Coca-Cola (Forbes Cross-Post)

POM, the pomegranate juice maker, is unhappy that Coca-Cola sells a Minute Maid “Pomegranate Blueberry Blend of 5 Juices” that contains only 0.3% pomegranate juice and 0.2% blueberry juice. Even though Coca-Cola apparently complies with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…

Stalking Conviction For Friending a Prosecutor's Facebook Friends?--State v. Moller

Online stalking and threats are hot topics today, especially in light of the Supreme Court granting cert in US v. Elonis (we plan to recap that case before oral arguments). Today’s case highlights the grey area between veiled threats and…

Chelvadina griped about Raanan Katz on her blog. As is common practice for bloggers, Chelvadina included a headshot photo of Katz. The court says the photo is unflattering (I’ll let you decide). Chevaldina found the photo on an Israeli website…

Bad Idea: Shaming An Employee On Facebook For Health Issues--Shoun v. Best Formed Plastics

Jane Stewart, a company manager, posted the following on her Facebook page: Isn’t [it] amazing how Jimmy experienced a 5 way heart bypass just one month ago and is back to work, especially when you consider George Shoun’s shoulder injury…

The Supreme Court's Riley Decision Won't Change Much In The Field (Guest Blog Post)

[Eric’s Note: This guest blog post is from my colleague Kyle Graham, who teaches and writes in the area of Criminal Procedure, Evidence and others. I’m pleased to share his expert take on the Riley ruling, followed by a few…

Section 230 Immunizes Website For Super-User's Doxxing--Internet Brands v. Jape

Internet Brands runs a UGC website for boating enthusiasts. It gives some super-users the power to delete promotional posts, but “Spam deleters are not authorized to ban users, remove posts or delete discussion threads,” and they don’t get paid. Although…

Another Section 230 Win For Ripoff Report--Torati v. Hodak

Daniel Hodak posted negative comments about Hezi Torati to Ripoff Report. Torati sued Hodak and, in this ruling, asks for permission to add Ripoff Report and Ed Magedson as defendants. The court quickly shuts down this request. The court first…

Software Manufacturer Denied Section 230 Immunity--Hardin v. PDX

Hardin suffered significant personal injuries due to the drug Lamotrigine. Hardin bought the drug from the grocery store Safeway’s pharmacy department. She claims that Safeway provided her with a partially redacted “monograph,” the lengthy “drug information pamphlet” that pharmacies provide…