Digital Media
Arkansas Age-Gating Law Is Permanently Enjoined
Jeff HermesThe decision was a complete win for NetChoice, declaring that the law was a content- and speaker-based restriction that failed strict scrutiny and was moreover unconstitutionally vague.
TikTok Falls Under the Long Shadow of Holder
Jeff HermesThis case presents what I have started to think about as a First Amendment checksum error: If you interpret the First Amendment as not only permitting but actually justifying greater government control over the content of speech, then you know there is an error in your analysis even if you can’t pinpoint it.
Third Circuit Cites First Amendment to Limit § 230 Protection
Jeff HermesIn its opinion in Anderson v. TikTok, the Third Circuit held that Section 230 offers no protection for the sua sponte recommendation of content by social media platforms.
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claimed Censorship Case Against Facebook and Fact-Checking Organizations Brought by RFK, Jr. Group
Daniela Abratt-CohenThe Court held the district court properly dismissed a case filed by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., that advocates against vaccines, finding that it failed to a state a claim that fact-checks, and other restrictions, regarding its ability to post and fundraise on Facebook violated the First Amendment…
Strange Facts, But Wire Service Defense Wins the Day in Florida
Charles GlasserWhile the facts of the case are almost one-in-a-million, the legal issues – involving libel by embedding allegedly defamatory tweets written by others – is something we are dealing with more and more frequently.
NetChoice v. Moody: A Strong Statement of First Amendment Rights, But the Devil is in the Details
Jeff HermesOn the surface, this ruling appears to ensure that the First Amendment protects the editorial discretion of platforms just as it has protected the editorial discretion of newspapers. But with a caveat in a concurrence from Justice Barrett and comments from the other four justices challenging the Court’s decision to apply the law based on…
Federal Court Holds That Copyright Act Preempts X’s Web Scraping Claims
Jeremy GoldmanIn a blockbuster ruling that is bound to have far-reaching implications, including in the swarm of copyright infringement cases brought against AI platforms, a California federal court recently dismissed a complaint that X Corp. brought against web scraping company Bright Data.
AI and Child Safety Lead Discussion at 2024 MLRC Digital Conference
Michael NorwickMuch of the content of this year’s conference encompassed two red hot topics: the uncertainty and quickly evolving issues surrounding generative AI, and the wave of legislation and litigation in the name of child safety.
With the ELVIS Act, Tennessee Shows its Burning Love for Recording Artists
David Zeitlin and Robb HarveyTennessee, home to both Music City® (Nashville) and the Blues (Memphis), has taken a swing at regulating generative AI’s potential harm to musicians and recording artists.
Authors’ Vicarious Infringement Claims Against ChatGPT Dismissed
Matt KristoffersenThe U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently dismissed most of a collection of claims brought by a group of authors against OpenAI, alleging that the artificial intelligence company infringes their copyright when it uses their works to train its large language model ChatGPT.