This is another entry in my decade-long coverage of doctors suing patients for online reviews. The plaintiff is a Botox provider. The defendant-patient wrote a critical review on Yelp. The doctor sued the patient for defamation and related claims. The…
Members of Congress often send letters to various industry participants complaining about marketplace phenomena. Sometimes these letters demand additional information; other times, the letters just express opprobrium. All of these letters are backed by a coercive threat that the Congressmember…
Perez sued LinkedIn for suspending his account. In October, a court in Southern District of Texas dismissed the complaint because LinkedIn isn’t a state actor. The court gave Perez the opportunity to refile in the Northern District of California, which…
The plaintiff is Dr. Carter Page, who gained notoriety from his alleged role in Trump’s interactions with Russia, including multiple references in the Steele dossier. In 2017, he sued Oath (as owner of Yahoo and Huffington Post) for defamation over…
Many video games have loot boxes, where players can exchange valuable consideration (like in-game currency purchased for cash) for a chance to win something really valuable to gameplay. Because loot boxes may involve chance, consideration, and prizes, loot boxes may…
[I know 2020 feels like it was 100 years ago, but I’ve been busy in 2021 so far. I did year-end roundups of developments in Section 230 and emoji law.] My top Internet Law developments from 2020: 8. TSPA/TSF Launch….
This is an unusual federal appellate ruling interpreting CAN-SPAM because it came to the court from the Board of Immigration Appeals. Rad was tried and convicted of violating CAN-SPAM. The Third Circuit affirmed his conviction in 2014. Rad was a…
This post recaps three recent decisions dealing with service of process via alternative means (e.g., email or social media). The rulings arise in different contexts so they are useful illustrations of how courts deal with alternative service under different rules….
Yesterday, I did a videoconference with Prof. Eugene Volokh (UCLA Law) discussing if and how legislatures could regulate Internet services. Watch the video. Prof. Volokh and I usually agree on most things, but this time we may reach different conclusions….
This year’s tsunami of Section 230 “reform” bills includes the “Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (SAFE TECH) Act” from Sens. Warner, Hirono, and Klobuchar. This bill proposes over ten different Section 230 reforms, some of which…