Internet Law

In both criminal and civil litigation, emojis can be hard to interpret

Sometimes an eggplant is just an eggplant, but in the emoji world, it’s usually not. But is sending someone an eggplant emoji or a winky face proof of sexual harassment? When does a gun emoji mean someone is threatening another person with death? Does a thumbs-up emoji mean acceptance of a contract?

Dec 1, 2024 12:50 AM CST

DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case

The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, prosecutors told a Washington court Wednesday, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.

Nov 21, 2024 3:48 PM CST

DOJ will push Google to sell Chrome to break monopoly on search market

Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s biggest tech companies.

Nov 19, 2024 3:35 PM CST

How Nintendo’s IP lawyers are fighting back against ‘Pokémon With Guns’

Behind Nintendo Co.’s fierce protection of wide-ranging intellectual property is a legal team adept at weaponizing patents against potential rivals. Now those attorneys are setting their sights on a studio that’s risen to prominence with a game the industry has dubbed “Pokémon With Guns.”

Nov 15, 2024 10:30 AM CST

FTC antitrust case against Meta can move to trial, court rules

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing Facebook owner Meta of holding an illegal monopoly over social media can proceed to trial, handing the agency a victory after previous setbacks in making its case in court.

Nov 13, 2024 3:35 PM CST

Supreme Court appears split in Facebook lawsuit tied to data breach

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared closely divided over whether to allow shareholders to proceed with a lawsuit accusing Meta’s Facebook of misleading investors about risks from a massive data privacy breach.

Nov 7, 2024 10:00 AM CST

Google fined $20 decillion by Russian court

U.S. tech giant Google has closed up shop in Russia, but that hasn’t stopped a court there from leveling it with a fine greater than all the wealth in the world.

Nov 1, 2024 11:05 AM CDT

Her teenage son killed himself after talking to a chatbot; now she’s suing

The mother of a 14-year-old boy says Character.AI—the startup behind the personalized chatbot—is responsible for his suicide. In a lawsuit, she alleges that Character.AI recklessly developed its chatbots without proper guardrails or precautions, instead hooking vulnerable children with an addictive product that blurred the lines between reality and fiction.

Oct 25, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Your lawsuit against X is required to be filed in Texas, according to new terms of service

Lawsuits filed against X, formerly known as Twitter, have to be filed in federal court for the Northern District of Texas or in state court in the state’s Tarrant County, according to the social media company’s new terms of service.

Oct 23, 2024 9:11 AM CDT

When queried by judge, chatbot had less faith in its output than expert witness who used it

When confronted with evidence that an expert witness used a chatbot to cross-check lost-value calculations, a judge in Saratoga County, New York, decided to query the source.

Oct 16, 2024 2:24 PM CDT

Judge, aka ‘Sal Tortorella’ on TikTok, gets unpaid suspension for lip-syncing videos

A judge in Bergen County, New Jersey, initially thought that posting videos of himself lip-syncing songs on TikTok “seemed like silly, harmless and innocent fun.”

Oct 10, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

Judge’s ‘exceptional’ defiance following discipline decision is unmatched, suspension decision says

A state court judge in Philadelphia has been suspended without pay for posting political content on Facebook, even after a disciplinary decision finding that the conduct violated ethics rules.

Oct 8, 2024 12:39 PM CDT

Supreme Court’s sleepy-looking docket leaves room for potentially bigger cases to come

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term next week poised on the edge of uncertainty. The biggest case of the term may be one that isn’t even on the court’s docket yet.

Oct 3, 2024 12:04 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Will the Supreme Court have a role in the presidential election as it enters a new term?

As the justices return to the bench on Oct. 7 for the new term, the unknowable question is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will play a role in the outcome of the November 2024 presidential election. Will this year be like 2000, when a close election was effectively decided by the court’s ruling in Bush v. Gore? Or will it be like 2020, when a close election did not raise any issues for the justices to decide?

Oct 2, 2024 8:53 AM CDT

Arkansas justices refer each other for discipline in FOIA tiff

Updated: A Freedom of Information Act request for an Arkansas justice’s emails has led to a tossed lawsuit and a spate of ethics referrals.

Oct 1, 2024 3:16 PM CDT