District Court in 3rd Circuit Sides with 9th Circuit: §230 Protects Social Platforms from State Law Intellectual Property Claims
- 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... ›
FTC questions protections afforded tech platforms; LinkedIn was platform of choice for sellers of COVID-19 PPE; Appeals court passes on “retweet” propriety question
By: Julie O'Neill
Expressing concern about the spread of disinformation related to COVID-19, Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra said Congress may need “to reassess the special privileges afforded to tech platforms, especially given their vast power to curate and present content in ways that may manipulate users.”... ›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... ›Computer Service Providers Face Implied Limits on CDA Immunity
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Often lauded as the most important law for online speech , Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) does not just protect popular websites like Facebook, YouTube and Google from defamation and other claims based on third-party content. It is also critically important... ›Social Links: Biden’s stance on CDA §230; liability for user-generated content; Twitter’s process for reviewing Trump’s tweets
By: Anthony M. Ramirez
A federal district court in Illinois allowed claims for vicarious and direct copyright infringement to proceed against an employee of the Chicago Cubs Baseball Club for retweeting a third-party tweet containing the plaintiff’s copyrighted material. Read the opinion. Thinking of backing Biden in November? Would... ›Social Links: YouTube bans some targeted ads; big changes afoot on Twitter; Facebook plans to remove ‘deep fakes’
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In a move that might be part of a settlement that YouTube has entered into with the Federal Trade Commission , the video-sharing site said it will ban “targeted” advertisements on videos likely to be watched by children. Because targeted ads rely on information... ›The Joys and Dangers of Tweeting: A CDA Immunity Update
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A recent decision from a federal court in New York highlights the limits social media users enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). The case involves Joy Reid, the popular host of MSNBC’s AM Joy who has more than two million... ›CDA Section 230 Immunizes Platform From Liability for Friend and Content Suggestion Algorithms
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
A recent Second Circuit decision makes clear that the safe harbor that social media and other Internet companies enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act broadly applies to a wide variety of claims. When you think about the Section 230 safe harbor,... ›D.C. Circuit Holds that Section 230 Locks Out Locksmiths
By: Aaron P. Rubin
As we noted in our recent post on the Second Circuit case Herrick v. Grindr, LLC , Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) continues to provide immunity to online intermediaries from liability for user content, despite pressure from courts and legislatures seeking... ›California Court Finds Section 230 Protects Decision to Suspend and Ban Twitter Account
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A California Superior Court’s recent ruling in Murphy v. Twitter held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shielded Twitter from liability for suspending and banning a user’s account for violating the platform’s policies. As we have previously noted , Section 230 has... ›