On January 23, 2024, a California district court released its opinion in a closely-watched scraping dispute between the social media platform Meta and data provider Bright Data Ltd. (“Bright Data”) over Bright Data’s alleged...more
Back in October 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google, an appeal that challenged whether YouTube’s targeted algorithmic recommendations qualify as “traditional editorial functions” protected by the...more
Since the passage of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act (“CDA”), the majority of federal circuits have interpreted the CDA to establish broad federal immunity to causes of action that would treat service providers...more
On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit earlier this week again affirmed the lower court’s order preliminarily enjoining LinkedIn Corp. (“LinkedIn”) from blocking data analytics company hiQ Labs, Inc.’s...more
4/22/2022
/ Analytics ,
Business Model ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Databases ,
DMCA ,
hiQ Labs Inc v LinkedIn Corp ,
LinkedIn ,
Misappropriation ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Trespass ,
Trespass to Chattel ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Vacated ,
Van Buren v United States ,
Web Scraping ,
Websites
On June 14, 2021, in a closely-watched dispute involving the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Supreme Court granted LinkedIn Corp.’s (“LinkedIn”) petition for certiorari filed in the hiQ web scraping case. It...more
6/17/2021
/ Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Databases ,
LinkedIn ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Vacated ,
Van Buren v United States ,
Web Scraping
Last week, the Italian data protection authority (the “GPDP”) opened an investigation after reports that a dataset allegedly containing data compiled from 500 million LinkedIn profiles and other websites was available for...more
Happy Silver Anniversary to Section 230 of Communications Decency Act (“CDA” or “Section 230”), which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in February 1996. At that time, Congress enacted CDA Section 230 in response...more
3/18/2021
/ Communications Decency Act ,
Google ,
Illegal Gambling ,
Immunity ,
Loot Boxes ,
Mobile Apps ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
State Law Claims ,
User-Generated Content ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Currency
With the change in administrations in Washington, there has been a drive to enact or amend legislation in a variety of areas. However, most initiatives lack the zeal found with the bipartisan interest in “reining in social...more
The appetite for acquisitions and investment in online businesses has never been stronger, with many of the most attractive online opportunities being businesses that host, manage and leverage user-generated content. These...more
11/3/2020
/ Communications Decency Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
FCC ,
Immunity ,
Investors ,
Online Platforms ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
User-Generated Content ,
Website Owner Liability
In continuing its efforts to enforce its terms and policies against developers that engage in unauthorized scraping of user data, this week Facebook brought suit against two marketing analytics firms, BrandTotal Ltd...more
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230 (“Section 230” or the “CDA”), enacted in 1996, is generally viewed as the most important statute supporting the growth of Internet commerce. The key provision of...more
The currents around the Communications Decency Act just got a little more turbulent as the White House and executive branch try to reel in the big fish of CDA reform.
On July 27, 2020, the Commerce Department submitted a...more
8/3/2020
/ Communications Decency Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Immunity ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
President Trump signed an Executive Order today attempting to curtail legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230” or the “CDA”). The Executive Order strives to clarify that Section 230...more
UPDATE: On the afternoon of May 28, 2020, the President signed the executive order concerning CDA Section 230. A copy/link to the order has not yet been posted on the White House’s website.
According to news reports,...more
Teami, LLC (“Teami”), a marketer of teas and skincare products, agreed to settle FTC charges alleging that its retained social media influencers did not sufficiently disclose that they were being paid to promote Teami’s...more
In continuing its push to enforce its terms and policies against developers that engage in unauthorized collection or scraping of user data, Facebook brought suit last month against mobile marketing and data analytics firm...more
3/10/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Facebook ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Public Disclosure ,
Social Media ,
Terms of Use ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Web Scraping
The most typical case that implicates Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) involves a provider that hosts content and a third party plaintiff seeking to have content removed. Last month, in a less typical case,...more
In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Times, published today, former Vice President Joe Biden advocated for repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). As readers of this blog may know,...more
t is that time of year when we look back to see what tech-law issues took up most of our time this year and look ahead to see what the emerging issues are for 2020.
Data: The Issues of the Year -
Data presented a wide...more
12/24/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Data ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Security ,
Deep Fake ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Social Media ,
Technology Sector
With the online shopping season in full swing, the FTC decided that online retailers might benefit from a reminder as to the dos and don’ts for social media influencers. Thus, the FTC released a new guide, “Disclosures 101...more
12/5/2019
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
New Guidance ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Endorsements ,
Popular ,
Social Media ,
Websites
Last month, LinkedIn Corp. (“LinkedIn”) filed a petition for rehearing en banc of the Ninth Circuit’s blockbuster decision in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., No. 17-16783 (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2019). The crucial question...more
On October 11, 2019, LinkedIn Corp. (“LinkedIn”) filed a petition for rehearing en banc of the Ninth Circuit’s blockbuster decision in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., No. 17-16783 (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2019). The crucial...more
In a ruling that is being hailed as a victory for web scrapers and the open nature of publicly available website data, the Ninth Circuit today issued its long-awaited opinion in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., No. 17-16783...more
9/10/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cease and Desist ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
E-Commerce ,
LinkedIn ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Revocation ,
Social Media ,
Terms of Use ,
Unauthorized Access ,
User Agreements ,
Web Scraping ,
Website Owner Liability
In an important opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that plaintiffs in the ongoing Facebook biometric privacy class action have alleged a concrete injury-in-fact to confer Article III standing and that...more
8/12/2019
/ Article III ,
Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Facebook ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Fingerprints ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Social Media ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations
In recent years, there have been a number of suits filed in federal courts seeking to hold social media platforms responsible for providing material support to terrorists by allowing members of such groups to use social media...more