Socially Aware

June 09, 2021 - Litigation
Northern District of California Holds that Section 230 Applies to App Store
By: Aaron P. Rubin
While Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act continues to face significant calls for reform or even elimination , the recent Coffee v. Google case illustrates that Section 230 continues to provide broad protection to online service providers. In Coffee , the Northern District
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May 18, 2021 - Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
Ninth Circuit’s Snap Decision Limits Section 230 Immunity
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lemmon v. Snap provides a reminder that while Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides broad immunity to the owners and operators of websites and mobile apps, that immunity is not without
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October 28, 2020 - Defamation, Litigation
S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Defamation Case Arising Out of “Battle by Tweet”
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In Ganske v. Mensch , a defamation suit stemming from a “battle by Tweet,” a federal district court in New York held that the allegedly defamatory statements in the defendant’s Tweet were nonactionable statements of opinion and dismissed the case. The case illustrates that
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October 20, 2020 - Fraud, Litigation
Avoiding Claims Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in Connection with Software and Firmware Updates
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A recent ruling in Parziale v. HP, Inc. , arising out of the implementation by Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) of a remote firmware update on many models of the company’s printers, highlights the potentially broad application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). It also
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August 24, 2020 - User-Generated Content, Defamation, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation
EDNY Refuses to Dismiss on § 230 Grounds in “Shitty Media Men” Defamation Case
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In Elliott v. Donegan , a federal district court in New York held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not warrant the dismissal of a defamation claim where the plaintiff’s complaint did not “foreclose[] the possibility that Defendant created or developed
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August 17, 2020 - Section 230 Safe Harbor, Litigation, Right of Publicity
District Court in 3rd Circuit Sides with 9th Circuit: §230 Protects Social Platforms from State Law Intellectual Property Claims
By: Evangeline Phang
It is another win for social media platforms in the realm of the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230. In a case of first impression within the Third Circuit, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Hepp v. Facebook ruled that social media platforms are immune
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July 21, 2020 - Advertising, Litigation
Stretching the Bounds of Personal Jurisdiction, 4th Circuit Finds Geotargeted Advertising May Subject Foreign Website Owner to Personal Jurisdiction in the U.S.
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Foreign websites that use geotargeted advertising may be subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States, even if they have no physical presence in the United States and do not specifically target their services to the United States, according to a new ruling from
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July 07, 2020 - Trademark, Cyberbullying, Marketing, Defamation, Section 230 Safe Harbor, Free Speech, Litigation
Debate over §230 of the CDA rages on; Twitter defeats defamation suit; Booking.com held valid trademark
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
In a purported attempt to safeguard free speech, President Trump has issued an order “Preventing Online Censorship,” that would eliminate the protections afforded by one of our favorite topics here at Socially Aware , Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects
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June 23, 2020 - Terms of Use, Online Contracts, Arbitration, Litigation
Sweating the Details: Court Analyzes User Interface to Uphold Online Arbitration Clause
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Online service providers typically seek to mitigate risk by including arbitration clauses in their user agreements. In order for such agreements to be effective, however, they must be implemented properly. Babcock vs. Neutron Holdings, Inc. , a recent Southern District of Florida case involving
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May 04, 2020 - Terms of Use, Copyright, Litigation
S.D.N.Y.: Public Display of Embedded Instagram Photo Does Not Infringe Copyright
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A federal district court in New York held that a photographer failed to state a claim against digital-media website Mashable for copyright infringement of a photo that Mashable embedded on its website by using Instagram’s application programming interface (API). The decision turned on Instagram’s
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Topic Archives: Litigation

Northern District of California Holds that Section 230 Applies to App Store

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Ninth Circuit’s Snap Decision Limits Section 230 Immunity

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Defamation Case Arising Out of “Battle by Tweet”

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Avoiding Claims Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in Connection with Software and Firmware Updates

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

EDNY Refuses to Dismiss on § 230 Grounds in “Shitty Media Men” Defamation Case

By: Aaron P. Rubin

District Court in 3rd Circuit Sides with 9th Circuit: §230 Protects Social Platforms from State Law Intellectual Property Claims

By: Evangeline Phang

Stretching the Bounds of Personal Jurisdiction, 4th Circuit Finds Geotargeted Advertising May Subject Foreign Website Owner to Personal Jurisdiction in the U.S.

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

Debate over §230 of the CDA rages on; Twitter defeats defamation suit; Booking.com held valid trademark

By: Anthony M. Ramirez

Sweating the Details: Court Analyzes User Interface to Uphold Online Arbitration Clause

By: Aaron P. Rubin

S.D.N.Y.: Public Display of Embedded Instagram Photo Does Not Infringe Copyright

By: Aaron P. Rubin