On this episode of The Briefing, Scott Hervey and James Kachmar break down the Supreme Court’s decision to pass on the McGuckin v. Valnet case—and how it keeps the legal confusion swirling around the “server test” for embedding online content. With courts on opposite coasts taking different stances, what does this mean for publishers, bloggers, and social media managers? They talk about the risks, what you can do to stay safe, and why your location might matter more than you think.Continue Reading The Briefing: No CTRL-ALT-DEL For the Server Test
GoDaddy Obtains Section 230 Immunity Despite Plaintiffs’ “Sympathetic” Claims
Section 230 of the CDA provides immunity to “interactive computer services” providers against certain types of legal claims.
Continue Reading GoDaddy Obtains Section 230 Immunity Despite Plaintiffs’ “Sympathetic” Claims
The Interplay Between Section 230 Immunity and The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2018
The Ninth Circuit was recently called upon to decide a case of first impression for it involving the interplay between immunity granted to website providers under the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) and potential civil liability under The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2018 (“FOSTA”). In the case, Jane Does v. Reddit, Inc., decided October 24, 2022, the Court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ class action complaint against Reddit for allegedly hosting child pornography in its forums after analyzing the interplay between the CDA and FOSTA.
Continue Reading The Interplay Between Section 230 Immunity and The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2018
The Continuing Battle Over LinkedIn Profiles and the Applicability of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Over two and a half years ago, this column analyzed a Ninth Circuit case titled HiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corporation, in which the Court agreed with a lower court that had issued a preliminary injunction against LinkedIn from taking certain technical measures to prevent HiQ, a data analytics company, from “scraping” information from publicly available profiles on LinkedIn’s site. The Ninth Circuit concluded then that HiQ was not violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) because its activities were directed at publicly available information and therefore, it was not accessing LinkedIn’s computer systems either without authorization or in excess of such authorization as required to establish liability under the CFAA.
Continue Reading The Continuing Battle Over LinkedIn Profiles and the Applicability of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Compliance Deadline for California’s New Privacy Act Coming Up Fast; Are You Ready?
The deadline for business to implement compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act is just around the corner and chances are most businesses are not ready.
On June 28, 2018, Governor Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The Act applies to any business which does business in California, and i) has annual gross revenues in excess of $25 million; ii) buys, receives, sells, or shares for commercial purposes, the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, households, or devices; or iii) earns more than half of its annual revenue from selling consumers’ personal information.
Continue Reading Compliance Deadline for California’s New Privacy Act Coming Up Fast; Are You Ready?