How Many Times Must the Courts Say "No" to This Guy?--Fyk v. Facebook

In 2018, Jason Fyk sued Facebook for removing and blocking his content. My previous summary of this litigation campaign: His lawsuit against Facebook was dashed by Section 230 in the district court. The Ninth Circuit quickly agreed and then denied his en banc…

Does IP Law Protect Influencers’ Aesthetics?--Gifford v. Sheil (Guest Blog Post)

by guest blogger Alexandra J. Roberts It’s become known as the “sad beige lawsuit” or the case that asks the question “can you ever really own an aesthetic?” But the suit, in which 24-year-old influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford accuses another…

Unfair and Impolite Tweets Aren't Defamatory--Flynn v. Wilson

The plaintiff in this case is Mike Flynn, who served in important roles in the Trump 1.0 administration, got fired, and received a Trump pardon. I previously blogged his lawsuit against CNN. The defendants include Rick Wilson, a Lincoln Project…

Suspended Twitter User Loses Lawsuit Due to Section 230--Ryan v. X

[This blog post covers two decisions in the same lawsuit: the ruling on X’s initial motion to dismiss from September, which apparently never triggered my Westlaw or Lexis alerts, and then a ruling on X’s motion to dismiss the amended…

Bleg: Please Help Me Prepare for the Blog's 20th Blogiversary

In February, this blog will celebrate its 20th anniverary. I’ll make together a series of posts to celebrate the milestone, and I would benefit from your help. I would be grateful if you could email me (egoldman@gmail.com) your thoughts about…

DC Circuit Says the TikTok Ban Is Censorship, But Upholds It Anyway--TikTok v. Garland

The D.C. Circuit held that Congress’ TikTok ban survived a variety of Constitutional challenges, including a First Amendment challenge, even if strict scrutiny applies. The decision will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with uncertain prospects, so this is…

Amazon Must Defend "Yelp Law" Claim--Ramos v. Amazon

I support statutes that restrict businesses from contractually “gagging” their customers’ reviews. This pernicious business practice emerged around 15 years ago. Eventually, both state legislatures and Congress banned the practice. The flagship law in this area is the Consumer Review…

Attempt to Weaponize Section 230(c)(2)(B) Fails on Ripeness Grounds--Zuckerman v. Facebook

Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at UMass Amherst, wants to code and offer an app he calls Unfollow Everything 2.0, “which would automate the process of unfollowing friends, groups, and pages on a user’s Facebook social media profile.” Because he expects…

Judge Rejects SAD Scheme Joinder--Toyota v. Schedule A Defendants

Toyota brought a SAD Scheme case against 103 defendants before Judge Daniel in the Northern District of Illinois. (Seriously, Toyota? Using abusive IP enforcement tactics? Do better). As I recently mentioned, Judge Daniel is calling out overreaching joinder allegations in…

Snap's TOS Withstands an Unconscionability Challenge--Howard v. Snap

A Snap user connected with another Snap user, bought drugs offline from the other Snap user, and overdosed. Her estate sued Snap in Nevada for its alleged complicity in the death. Snap successfully invoked its TOS venue selection clause, sending…