The Supreme Court's landmark decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, No. 21-0576 (U.S. June 30, 2023) held that Colorado cannot force a website designer to create an expressive message antithetical to her beliefs. In so ruling,...more
The future appears bright (or at least brighter) for the Supreme Court's seminal decision New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), after six Justices endorsed its core principles in a recent decision involving the...more
7/7/2023
/ Actual Malice ,
Counterman v Colorado ,
Criminal Liability ,
Cyber-Stalking ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
First Amendment ,
Harassment ,
Mental Health ,
New York Times v Sullivan ,
Rogers Test ,
SCOTUS
Twitter v. Taamneh and Google v. Gonzalez rulings address Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act -
The Supreme Court ruled in two long-awaited cases on May 18, handing twin victories to online services. These...more
The justices' 7-2 decision addresses fair use, "transformative" artistic changes, and a 1981 photo of Prince -
On May 18, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its hotly anticipated decision exploring the elusive boundaries of...more
On February 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that an error in an application for copyright registration can invalidate a registration only where the applicant has actual knowledge of or is willfully...more
For the first time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken aim at a company's failure to publish negative customer reviews on its website, claiming such a practice is deceptive and violates the FTC Act....more
Effective July 25, 2021, the state of Washington has a new anti-SLAPP statute—replacing the version that the Washington Supreme Court declared invalid in 2015. The statute restores important defenses for news organizations,...more
Earlier this month, President Biden issued two executive orders designed to address risks allegedly posed by Chinese technology companies. One order rescinds President Trump's orders banning TikTok, WeChat, and other Chinese...more
On February 5, 2021, three Democratic Senators released the SAFE TECH Act, which aims to require online service providers to address fraud, harassment, and the use of social media to organize extremist violence. If passed,...more
In its "first full analysis" of whether Section 512 of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) "is … achieving its aim of balancing the needs of online service providers with those of creators," the U.S. Copyright...more
In its "first full analysis" of whether section 512 of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) "is… achieving its aim of balancing the needs of online service providers with those of creators," the U.S. Copyright...more
Last week, the 2nd Circuit published an opinion that resolved several significant copyright issues, including conflicts concerning the discovery rule, the recovery of damages accrued before the Copyright Act's three-year...more
Effective in 2020, two new California laws will regulate the distribution of so-called "deepfakes"—manipulated images, audio, or visual depictions of someone that appear to be genuine. ...more
Sometimes, bad facts don’t make bad law. Two recent decisions confirm that a federal immunity protects websites from claims that they allowed their users to post content that ultimately caused injury or even death. ...more
Last week, a California legislative committee advanced a bill that would require websites that primarily publish content about cannabis products to ensure advertisements on their sites include a license number and all...more
The Supreme Court held on March 4 that a copyright owner may not file a lawsuit alleging infringement without first securing a registration from the Copyright Office. The opinion resolves a longstanding split in federal...more
In a closely watched case, the California Supreme Court on Monday confirmed it will continue to broadly interpret the immunity provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230. Hassell v. Bird,...more
The Ninth Circuit issued an opinion last week clarifying the standards applicable to anti-SLAPP motions in federal court, which is accompanied by a concurrence inviting the court to revisit its decision to hear anti-SLAPP...more
December 31, 2017, is a key deadline for online service providers that store content provided by third-party users. By that date, providers must designate an agent with the Copyright Office for receipt of Digital Millennium...more
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an online provider may become ineligible for the safe harbor provided by Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if its moderators help select...more
The Second Circuit became the third federal appellate court ever to deny immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, which provides broad protection for content supplied to websites by their users....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit this week delivered a resounding victory for websites dependent on a federal immunity from claims based on content posted by third parties. Broadly interpreting Section 230 of...more
The Washington Supreme Court in May struck down the state’s 2010 anti-SLAPP statute, holding in a unanimous opinion that the law violates the state constitution’s right to a jury trial and is invalid on its face. The...more
Three developments in the last two months suggest websites face greater liability for content authored by third parties in the European Union—including reader comments, posts on message boards and social networks, and search...more
7/2/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Duty of Care ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
France ,
Google ,
Online Commentary ,
Popular ,
Right to Be Forgotten ,
Search Engines ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Websites
The Washington Supreme Court this morning invalidated the state's broad anti-SLAPP statute, holding in a unanimous opinion that the law violates the constitutional right to a jury trial. The decision strikes the statute in...more