Internet Feuds Are Basically Defamation-Free Warzones--Rapaport v. Barstool

[WARNING: this post contains coarser-than-usual content.] This case involves actor Michael Rapaport, who has appeared in many popular TV shows and movies. Apparently he’s edgy in real life, which he demonstrated through a CBS Radio show. Barstool Productions “has cultivated…

Deconstructing Justice Thomas' Pro-Censorship Statement in Knight First Amendment v. Trump

Last week, the Supreme Court vacated the Second Circuit’s Knight v. Trump ruling. The Second Circuit held that Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked other Twitter users from engaging with his @realdonaldtrump account. Other courts are holding that…

“Copy Me That” (I’m pretty sure no IP lawyer recommended that name–it’s like a confession for copyright defendants) makes an app to help users manage recipes. “This Old Gal” (again, who comes up with these names?) publishes recipes. This Old…

There Are Multiple Types of "Clickwrap." They Should All Be Enforceable--Calderon v. Sixt

This case involves rental car contracts. Typically, a rental car company can form a contract at three different times: when making an online reservation, when actually completing the reservation in person (nowadays, usually it’s an electronic signature on a point-of-sale…

By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa [BONUS: Prof. Ochoa will be speaking on this case April 13, 6pm Pacific. Free registration.] On April 5, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-2 that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of code from the Java…

Section 230 Preempts Contract Breach Claims--Morton v. Twitter

This case involves the model Genevieve Morton. She created nude images and sold them at her website. An interloper, SpyIRL, tweeted some of the images. Morton asked Twitter to remove the images and suspend the accounts. Twitter removed the images…

Another Must-Carry Lawsuit Against YouTube Fails--Daniels v Alphabet

[I’ll discuss Justice Thomas’ latest bonkers statement later this week] Daniels, a/k/a “Young Pharoah,” posted videos to YouTube, apparently of the #MAGA genre. YouTube removed some videos, allegedly “shadowbanned” him (again, I raise questions whether that’s the appropriate term here),…

This case involves two videos by Kinsley that third parties uploaded to the education site Udemy. Udemy promptly honored Kinsley’s takedown notices, but he sued anyways. In a fairly efficient opinion, the court grants summary judgment that Udemy qualifies for…

The defendant was a high school teacher and coach. She sent photos to one of her students, WB, via Snapchat. The court says WB and the defendant never discussed the photos. The court describes the photos as “somewhat risqué” because…

Facebook Defeats Lawsuit Over Alleged 'Shadowbanning'--De Souza Millan v. Facebook

The term “shadowbanning” does not have a single well-accepted definition. In my Content Moderation Remedies paper, I say: “A shadowban keeps a user’s account active, but only the accountholder can see the content.” However, others sometimes use the term as…