A New Foundation-Based Initiative for Online Freedom: Is Code the Answer?
By Jeff Hermes On February 11th, I had the opportunity to attend “NetGain: Working Together for a Stronger Digital Society,” an event hosted by the Ford Foundation at its offices in New York. The event marked the launch of a new partnership between Ford, the Knight Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Mozilla Foundation, and…
Republication of 9/11 Photo Not a Fair Use
Use of Image With Iwo Jima Photo Not Transformative The republication of an iconic 9/11 photo on the Facebook page of a cable news talk show was not a fair use, according to a recent decision from a federal court in New York. North Jersey Media Group Inc. v. Pirro and Fox News Network, LLC,…
Ninth Circuit Grants Rehearing in Doe v. Internet Brands
Panel Held Sec. 230 Did Not Apply to Failure to Warn Claim On February 24th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced that it was withdrawing its September 2014 opinion in Doe v. Internet Brands, Inc., No. 12-56638, and will rehear the case on March 18, 2015. The case involves whether Internet…
Court Bars Tort Claims Against eBay Under Communications Decency Act
By Grayson McDaniel A Mississippi federal court recently held that the Communications Decency Act barred tort-based claims brought against online auction website eBay Inc. (“eBay”), stemming from a plaintiff’s purchase of allegedly recalled hunting equipment, because eBay neither created nor developed the content at issue. On December 9, 2014, in an opinion by the Honorable…
From the Next Gen Committee: FAA’s Proposed Drone Rules Offer Hope, But Some Limits for Journalists
By Alicia Wagner Calzada Faced with shrinking budgets and too many deadly helicopter accidents, journalists needing aerial photography have been clamoring to use small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), commonly called drones, which have become more affordable and accessible in recent years. But the FAA has been interfering with such uses, sending cease and desist letters…
Punishing Journalists for Using Hidden Cameras Violates Article 10
ECHR’s First Decision on the Use of Hidden Cameras By Peter Noorlander In its first judgment on the use of hidden cameras in investigative journalism, the European Court of Human Rights has laid down a strong marker in favor of press freedom. Haldimann and others v. Switzerland, application no. 21830/09, 24 February 2015 (judgment available…
Paris’s Defamation Complaint Against Fox News: What We Know
This month, the City of Paris reportedly filed with a French court a defamation complaint seeking to hold Fox News Network responsible for statements about so-called “no-go zones” in Paris. The following is a report of what we know about the suit now, and what we expect to happen next. The Challenged Reporting In the…
Vanity Fair Prevails in Libel Suit Brought by Oleg Cassini’s Widow
By Elizabeth A. McNamara & Alison Schary Oleg Cassini, the designer who created Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic styles, had been linked or married to the most beautiful women of his day – Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Anita Ekberg, Gene Tierney, among countless others. But Cassini’s death in 2006 revealed a bombshell: unbeknownst to nearly everyone, Cassini…
Nebraska Court: Calling Plaintiff a “Total Idiot” Not Defamatory
In a detailed discussion of the opinion defense under Nebraska law, the state’s supreme court affirmed that an email calling plaintiff a “total idiot” was not actionable. Steinhausen v. Home Services of Nebraska, 289 Neb. 927 (Jan. 23, 2015). At issue in the case was an email sent by a real estate agent to other…
Twitter Account Mocking Lawyer Protected By First Amendment
A Twitter account using plaintiff’s name and photograph was held to be a parody protected by the First Amendment. Levitt and Levitt Law P.C. v. Felton, No. 14-11644 (Mich. Cir. Feb. 19, 2015) (Chamberlain, J.). The plaintiff, Michigan lawyer Todd Levitt, sued the creator of a Twitter account called “Todd Levitt 2.0” for defamation, false…
Georgia TV Station Seeks High Court Review of Cramped SLAPP Ruling
Petition Supported by Media Amicus A tragic train crash at a Midland, Texas veterans’ parade led a Georgia veteran to file suit for his injuries and a Georgia television station to report that he had been revealed as a Purple Heart poseur. After being arrested and charged with false swearing in connection with his application…
Anti-SLAPP Ruling: First Amendment Applies to Celebrity Biographers
One Breach of Contract Claim Left for Remand By Lou Petrich and Jamie Frieden The California Court of Appeal, Second District, held that claims for fraud, misappropriation, and unfair competition arising out of a book about heavy metal guitarist Randy Rhoads should have been stricken under California’s Anti-SLAPP statute. Rhoads v. Margolis, 2015 WL 311932…
Court Affirms Summary Judgment Dismissing Coal Magnate’s Libel Suit
Calls on State to Adopt Anti-SLAPP Protection By John C. Greiner In Murray v. Chagrin Valley Publishing Company, (Ohio App. Dec. 11, 2014) the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth District correctly granted summary judgment to several defendants in a libel suit brought by Robert E. Murray and several of his affiliated coal companies….
First Amendment Does Not Bar Police Officers’ Claims Against Newspaper’s Use of “Personal” DMV Information
By Gregory R. Naron The Seventh Circuit recently issued an opinion adopting an “expansive” view of the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq. (“DPPA”), that would potentially subject journalists to civil penalties under the statute for unauthorized acquisition and disclosure of purportedly “personal information” from Department of Motor Vehicles…
Criminal Erasure Statute Does Not Expose Historically True Reporting To Post-Hoc Tort Liability
“There’s No Right To Have Your Arrest Forgotten” By Michael Beylkin On January 28, 2015, the Second Circuit issued a decision affirming a trial court’s dismissal of Lorraine Martin’s lawsuit that had attempted to bring libel and other publication-related claims against media outlets that published accounts of her 2010 arrest, an arrest that was later…
From the Executive Director’s Desk
By George Freeman The retirement of Jon Stewart; the deaths of Bob Simon and David Carr; the suspension of Brian Williams: it has been a sad and unfortunate month in the media. There is not much more one can say about the first three. But the Brian Williams saga is continuing, and is worth a…
MediaLawLetter February 2015
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s Desk LIBEL & PRIVACY 2d Cir.: Criminal Erasure Statute Does Not Expose Historically True Reporting To Post-Hoc Tort Liability“There’s No Right To Have Your Arrest Forgotten”Martin v. Hearst Corp. 7th Cir.: First Amendment Does Not Bar Police Officers’ Claims Against Newspaper’s Use of “Personal” DMV InformationCourt Adopts Expansive…