Skip to main content
May 2018

MLRC Bulletin 2018 Issue 2

PUBLICATION:
Update on Net Neutrality; Navigating the Stored Communications Act; Inline Linking, the Server Test & Goldman v. Breitbart News; The Scourge of Fake Lawsuits; Platforms after Packingham; An Overview of FOSTA
in this issue

A Brief Update on Network Neutrality

By Christopher W. Savage[1] Introduction Net Neutrality is the issue that won’t die. This article provides a brief update on where the policy, legal, and political disputes surrounding it stand as of May 2018. In early 2018 the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its “Restoring Internet Freedom” order. Restoring Internet Freedom, Declaratory Ruling, Report and…

Navigating the Stored Communications Act: A Primer and Recent Developments

By Ambika K. Doran, John D. Seiver, and Xiang Li[1] Passed to fix a perceived gap in Fourth Amendment protections, the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., governs when certain online providers may or must disclose a customer’s electronic communications and other records. But Congress enacted the statute more than thirty…

Inline Linking Put to the Test: District Court: Questions Server Test and Creates Potential Circuit Split in Goldman v. Breitbart News Network

By Joe Petersen and Jennifer Findley Introduction In this era of social media and an intensely competitive 24-hour news cycle, many media companies routinely rely upon a decade-old legal theory that inline linking to a social media or blog post or third-party website is immunized from a claim of copyright infringement as long as the…

The Scourge of Fake Lawsuits: How Reputation Management Gone Awry Leads to Criminal Activity that Can be Hard to Redress

By Marc J. Randazza[1] Introduction For a long time, businesses and professionals have grappled with the effects of consumer review web sites like Yelp and Ripoff Report. These are online forums where companies have very little control over their public reputation other than to consistently provide quality service and products. Even then, there is nothing…

Platforms after Packingham: Are There Rights of Access to the “Modern Public Square”?

By Jeff Hermes Introduction By now it is a familiar irony that some of the most challenging issues related to freedoms of speech and press in the United States play out on digital platforms governed not by the First Amendment but by codes of behavior established by private companies. Moderation of content by social media…

An Overview of FOSTA and Its Potential Effects on Communication Platforms

By Andrew P. Bridges, Guinevere Jobson, Ciara N. Mittan, and Crystal Nwaneri Introduction Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”), codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230, affords broad immunity to users and providers of interactive computer services for two main activities: the diffusion of information provided by others and decisions to restrict…

MLRC Bulletin 2018 Issue 2

 Download Publication An Overview of FOSTA and Its Potential Effects on Communication Platforms Platforms After Packingham: Are There Rights of Access to the “Modern Public Square”? The Scourge of Fake Lawsuits: How Reputation Management Gone Awry Leads to Criminal Activity that Can be Hard to Redress Inline Linking Put to the Test: District Court Questions…