Snap and Airbnb Aren't Liable for Tragic Shooting--Jackson v. Airbnb

This case involves a tragedy of a minor shooting another minor (the shooter and the victim’s family disagree about whether it was accidental or intentional). The shooter acquired the gun via Snapchat, and the shooting took place at an Airbnb…

Court Again Rejects Lawsuit Over YouTube's Allegedly Discriminatory Content Moderation--Divino v. YouTube

LGBTQ+ content creators “claim that despite YouTube’s purported viewpoint neutrality, defendants have discriminated against them based on their sexual or gender orientation, identity, and/or viewpoints by censoring, demonetizing, or otherwise interfering with certain videos that plaintiffs uploaded to YouTube.” In…

The facts in this case are so bizarre and outrageous that I had to read them several times: On September 30, 2018, Z.D. underwent an examination and medical testing in the emergency department of a Community facility in Indianapolis. Afterward,…

"Liking" a Facebook Post Isn't Defamatory--Gallagher v. MaternityWise

[WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY THANKSGIVING] In 2018, Young posted a Facebook review accusing plaintiff Gallagher of being a sexual predator. Defendant Croudace allegedly “liked” Young’s post. The court says the  “threshold issue is whether, as a matter…

How Copyright Law Fosters Anti-Competitive Behavior, Part Infinity--Bayam v. ID Tech

Bayam and ID Tech run rival online jewelry businesses. Both use Shopify as a service provider. ID Tech believed that Bayam copies too much of its copyrighted website content and pursued a whirlwind of enforcement activity, including filing two lawsuits…

A 5 Month Check-In on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)

I prepared these statistics on November 18, 2022, roughly 5 months after launch. Total number of cases: 247. This continues to imply a run rate of about 600 cases per year, or less than 2 cases per day. According to…

Review of the "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?" Netflix Documentary

In the mid-1990s, at the height of the Cola Wars, Pepsi ran an ad to introduce its “Pepsi Stuff” loyalty program, including a featured prize of a Harrier Jet for 7M points–a ridiculously high number that was supposed to signal…

Another Tough People Search Ruling--Spindler v. Seamless

Seamless offers a customer lead tool that displays the prospect’s personal information behind a subscription paywall with try-before-you-buy options. The plaintiff sued Seamless for violations of California’s publicity rights statute and related claims. The court denies Seamless’ motion to dismiss….

Ninth Circuit Easily Rejects Jawboning Claims Against YouTube--Doe v. Google

This is one of the many MAGA lawsuits over content moderation allegedly biased against conservatives–in this case, by YouTube as part of its crackdown on conspiracy theories. The plaintiffs argued that government jawboning turned YouTube into a state actor. The…

My Testimony to the Colombian Constitutional Court Regarding Online Account Terminations and Content Removals

Today, I testified remotely before the Colombian Constitutional Court in the case of Esperanza Gómez Silva c. Meta Platforms, Inc. y Facebook Colombia S.A.S. Expediente T-8.764.298. In a procedure I don’t understand, the court organized a public hearing to discuss…