Internet Law

Sex-trafficking victims can sue Facebook for allegedly facilitating their recruitment, top Texas court says

A federal law protecting websites that publish third-party content doesn’t insulate Facebook from sex-trafficking lawsuits that are based on a state statute, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled.

Jun 30, 2021 9:26 AM CDT

Lawyer suspended for ‘incendiary’ Facebook posts must complete diversity education

A South Carolina lawyer has been suspended for six months for Facebook posts about George Floyd and women’s tattoos that are “expressly incendiary,” according to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Jun 29, 2021 11:12 AM CDT

Doctrine of laches, ‘speculative’ claim doom antitrust suits against Facebook; FTC gets second chance

In a pair of decisions Monday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., tossed antitrust lawsuits filed against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and the vast majority of state attorneys general.

Jun 28, 2021 4:22 PM CDT

Supreme Court takes a byte out of computer crime law

A U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down earlier this month has flown a bit below radar compared with the term’s bigger cases, but it is one that might be of interest to anyone who has ever bent the truth on a dating website or on social media, shopped or checked sports scores on a work computer, or happens to be a fan of the 1983 movie WarGames.

Jun 24, 2021 10:54 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: An unusual SCOTUS lineup; suit says Google is a public utility

SCOTUS rules for defendant in career criminal case Two conservative justices supported liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday to rule that a crime of recklessness is not a “violent felony” requiring a longer sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a plurality opinion favoring defendant Charles…

Jun 10, 2021 4:09 PM CDT

Justice Barrett parts ways with 3 conservative justices in ruling on reach of computer fraud law

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act doesn’t apply to a police officer’s search of a license plate database for an acquaintance who paid him more than $5,000.

Jun 3, 2021 10:43 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: BigLaw firm requires tests for unvaccinated; Florida will fine social media for candidate bans

BigLaw firm requires COVID-19 tests for unvaccinated Lawyers and staff members at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who don’t get vaccines will have to test negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours of their return to the office. The law firm hopes to formally reopen its U.S. offices Sept. 13…

May 25, 2021 4:39 PM CDT

Divided federal appeals court affirms ruling against former state justice regarding juror’s Twitter use

An en banc federal appeals court split 6-6 Thursday in an appeal by a former West Virginia Supreme Court justice who was seeking a hearing on a juror’s Twitter use during his fraud trial.

May 21, 2021 11:45 AM CDT

Maker of Snapchat can be sued for speed filter used by youths before fatal crash, 9th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that Snapchat isn’t protected from liability by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a case alleging that three youths died in a car crash after using the app’s speed filter.

May 6, 2021 9:46 AM CDT

11th Circuit decision ‘effectively closes the internet’s doors to the blind,’ plaintiff’s lawyers say

Websites are not public accommodations that must be accessible to blind customers unless they create an intangible barrier that excludes disabled people from accessing goods and services in a physical store, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Apr 8, 2021 10:09 AM CDT

Can Congress stop Twitter from blocking users? Thomas considers idea as Supreme Court vacates Trump decision

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas considered ways that Congress could regulate Twitter and other digital platforms in a concurrence Monday to the high court’s decision to vacate a decision involving former President Donald Trump.

Apr 5, 2021 1:00 PM CDT

Google’s use of Java code was fair use, SCOTUS rules in Oracle copyright battle

Google did not violate copyright law when it copied a portion of Java programming language for use in its Android platform for smartphones, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in a 6-2 decision.

Apr 5, 2021 11:34 AM CDT

Supreme Court rules for Facebook in dispute over texts; justices spar over ‘series-qualifier canon’

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled for Facebook on Thursday in a dispute over the reach of a law that restricts calls to cellphones made with an “automatic telephone dialing system.”

Apr 1, 2021 11:38 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS weighs whether freedom of speech applies to students off campus using social media

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its last oral arguments of the term in April, and it will finish with a First Amendment case of potential great importance. Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. involves whether a student can be punished for speech on social media over the weekend.

Apr 1, 2021 9:07 AM CDT

‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ and the problem with internet sleuths

Real people suffered as a result of web detectives’ resolve in their “investigation” in the Elisa Lam case.

Mar 25, 2021 11:04 AM CDT