Court Nopes Another Lawsuit Over Facebook Suspensions--Orders v. Facebook

Plaintiff Frank Orders “posted a picture of Hunter Biden with two prostitutes on his Facebook page. The black-and-white picture attached to the Complaint shows a male lying naked on a bed with two naked females sitting on top of the…

Section 230 Doesn't Protect Yearbook Website's Ads--Knapke v. Classmates

Classmates offers paywalled access to yearbook info. Classmates allows free searches, and the “search results provide a free preview of the services and products with a photo and name of an individual to entice the user to purchase Classmates’ services…

New Primer on the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)

In summer 2018, I wrote a short primer on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) soon after its passage. That primer proved to be quite popular, and I posted annual updated versions in summer 2019 and 2020. The passage of…

Fifth Circuit Says Keyword Ads Could Contribute to Initial Interest Confusion (UGH)--Adler v. McNeil

Jim Adler runs a personal injury law firm that claims trademarks in JIM ADLER, THE HAMMER, TEXAS HAMMER, and EL MARTILLO TEJANO. The defendants run the Accident Injury Legal Center, which runs a lawyer referral service. It bids on the…

CCPA Definitions Confuse the Judge in a Data Breach Case--In re Blackbaud

Blackbaud “provides data collection and maintenance software solutions for administration, fundraising, marketing, and analytics to social good entities such as non-profit organizations, foundations, educational institutions, faith communities, and healthcare organizations.” In a very unfortunate development, cybercriminals hacked into Blackbaud’s database…

Judge Rakoff: Embedding Social Media Content is a “Display” Under the Copyright Act

Paul Nicklen is a highly acclaimed nature photographer. He posted a video of an emaciated polar bear wandering the Canadian Arctic to his Facebook and Instagram accounts to sound the alarm on climate change. Nicklen “urged his social media followers…

Emoji Version Variations Help Identify Fabricated Evidence--Rossbach v. Montefiore Medical

Rossbach worked at Montefiore Medical Center. She claims her supervisor sexually harassed her and then the center retaliated against her. This screenshot is the evidentiary centerpiece of her claim: The last line is the court’s: “This image is a fabrication.”…

Satirical Depiction in YouTube Video Gets Rough Treatment in Court

Goodman made and posted a YouTube video called the “Crony Awards,” bestowing honors on countries that downplayed the COVID-19 virus. Because the court says Goodman’s company “traffics in wild conspiracy theories,” it’s likely the video actually celebrates countries for COVID…

An Initial Look at Washington's New Anti-SLAPP Statute

Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute was struck down by the Washington State Supreme Court in May 2015. Effective July 25, 2021, Washington has a new anti-SLAPP statute. My summary of the statute: Scope of coverage: The statute applies to causes of action…

Announcing the 2021 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook

I’m pleased to announce the 2021 edition of my Internet Law casebook, Internet Law: Cases & Materials. If I counted editions, this would be the 12th edition. The book is available as a PDF at Gumroad for $10, as a Kindle…