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…
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…
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…
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…
Bleg: Please Help Me Prepare for the Blog’s 20th Blogiversary
…grateful if you could email me (egoldman@gmail.com) your thoughts about one or more of the following topics: Who are you, and why do you read the blog? Out of the…
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…
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….
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…
Judge Rejects SAD Scheme Joinder–Toyota v. Schedule A Defendants
…generic rotely-made defendant-unspecific allegations that are copied and pasted into most SAD Scheme complaints. Judge Daniel responds unambiguously: “None of these arguments are persuasive.” Toyota cited the 2020 Bose decision,…
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…