Rapists pretended to be Uber drivers, picked up women under false pretenses, and raped them. As the court summarizes, “Jane Does seek to hold Uber liable for failing to warn them about or implement other measures to protect them against…

Can Tattoos Infringe Copyrights, and If So, What Happens Then?--Sedlik v. Kat Von D

Can tattoos infringe copyrights, and if yes, what remedies are appropriate? This is a venerable question–I remember evaluating it as a possible law review note topic 30+ years ago. This opinion is the first I can recall that answers the…

Supreme Court Restores Injunction Against Texas HB 20!--NetChoice v. Paxton

Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted the emergency application to restore the injunction against HB 20, Texas’ social media censorship law. The vote was 5-4, with Barrett, Breyer, Kavanaugh, Roberts, and Sotomayor voting to reinstate the injunction, and Alito, Gorsuch, Kagan,…

A Pop Quiz on TOS Formation--Wilson v. Triller

Triller is a TikTok rival. Its account formation process includes the screenshot on the left. On the right is the screenshot from Meyer v. Uber, which the Second Circuit held created an enforceable TOS. Is the Triller screen sufficiently similar…

Too Rusty For Krusty--Nickelodeon v. Rusty Krab Restaurant (Guest Blog Post)

by guest blogger Prof. Alexandra Jane Roberts Remember the Fifth Circuit case from 2018 holding that a real restaurant’s name could infringe trademark rights in the name of a fictional restaurant from the TV show SpongeBob SquarePants, the Krusty Krab?…

Section 230 Helps Craigslist Defeat Sex Trafficking Case--LH v. Marriott

This is another sex trafficking case against Craigslist. The plaintiff’s position primarily focuses on craigslist’s creation of a section of its platform devoted to “erotic services,” but also points to features like craigslist’s embedded messaging system (which allows for confidential…

Section 230 Helps Salesforce Defeat Sex Trafficking Lawsuit--GG v. Salesforce

This is another lawsuit where the plaintiff claims to have been sex trafficked on Backpage. Backpage used Salesforce as its CRM vendor, so the plaintiff claims Salesforce should be liable for the victimization. I’m aware of two other decisions involving…

Is Google's Search Engine a "Common Carrier"? (Seriously???)--Ohio ex rel Yost v. Google

This is a crazy case. Ohio AG Yost claims that Google’s search engine is a common carrier and a public utility. Nominally, his goal is to redress Google self-preferencing, but that’s a transparently pretextual excuse to censor search results and…

Big Ruling for Free Speech: Most of Florida's Social Media Censorship Law (SB 7072) Remains Enjoined--NetChoice v. Attorney General

On Monday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit issued an important Internet free speech opinion, NetChoice v. Attorney General (a/k/a NetChoice v. Moody). The opinion holds that the key parts of Florida’s social media censorship law (SB 7072)…

Rounding Up the Supreme Court Briefs in NetChoice v. Paxton, the Challenge to Texas HB20's Social Media Censorship Law

A quick recap: last summer, Texas passed HB20, a #MAGA messaging bill that poses existential threats to the Internet as we know it. NetChoice and CCIA led a lawsuit seeking to enjoin most of it. In December, the federal district…