MLRC Digital Media Law Database: Category Definitions

Items in the Database are categorized into one of eight top-level subject categories, and then into sub-topics as discussed below. Where an item relates to more than one topic or sub-topic, the item is categorized according to the dominant issue therein where possible or, failing that, at the discretion of the MLRC. All categories are restricted to items relating to digital media (so, for example, defamation claims involving statements in broadcast or print are not included). Click here to go back to the Database.

1. Privacy: Issues related to personal data, sensitive information, psychological integrity, and disclosures, breaches, or intrusions on the same.
   1. Anonymity/Pseudonymity: Issues involving protection of the identity of online speakers, including attempts to compel tech companies to disclose speaker identities and disputes over the sealing of court records identifying online speakers.
   2. Personal Information: Issues involving personal data, including tracking of online activity, collection of personal data by data brokers and platforms, and online dissemination of personal or private information.
   3. Children’s Privacy & Safety: Issues involving collection and protection of information related to minors. Also includes issues related to minors’ psychological and physical well-being related to their use of online platforms and tools. Children’s safety is covered here because safety and privacy issues are typically intertwined in this context.
   4. Rights of Publicity: Issues involving the right of publicity and claims for misappropriation of name, likeness, or persona. Also includes ROP-related issues arising out of the unauthorized creation of digital duplicates of celebrities. Trademark-specific issues, such as celebrities trademarking their names, fall under 2.b. Trademark.
   5. Biometrics: Collection and use of biometric data, whether by online platforms or by other private actors. Use of biometrics by government agencies is covered under 6.c. Biometric Tracking.
   6. Manipulated Media: Issues arising out of AI deepfakes or other digitally altered sounds or images, including revenge pornography, but excluding right of publicity issues.
   7. Hacking/Scraping/Data Breach: Issues out of the unauthorized access to, or use of, online data. Includes CFAA claims and data breach claims. DMCA Section 1201 claims fall under 2.a. Copyright.
   8. Other Privacy Issues: Other privacy related issues including intrusion-related claims and emotional distress claims not falling within another category.
      
2. Intellectual Property: Copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other IP-related issues. Note that right-of-publicity claims are covered under 1.d. Rights of Publicity, per historical MLRC practice.
   1. Copyright: Copyright lawsuits, DMCA issues, and statutory and regulatory issues affecting the operation of copyright in online environments.
   2. Trademark: State and federal trademark law, and federal regulatory action.
   3. Patent: Patent lawsuits and regulatory action.
   4. Trade Secrets/Misappropriation/Conversion: Trade secret, idea theft, and other claims for misappropriation or conversion of intellectual property rights not covered elsewhere.
      
3. Platform Management: Issues related to governance of users and third-party content by online platforms and services
   1. Section 230: Case law on the scope and application of Section 230, plus legislative activity related to the statute. Non-Section 230 case law on the liability of platforms for third-party content is categorized under 3.c. Content Moderation, when the decision relates to intermediary liability, or under Sections 1 or 4, when depending on the elements on the underlying claim.
   2. Elections & Political Advertising: Regulation of the display and carriage of election-related content and political advertising on online platforms, and lawsuits related to the same.
   3. Content Moderation: Issues related to rules for the carriage or display of information on online services, including laws and regulations regarding content moderation processes, lawsuits over the restriction or removal of online content or blocking of users, and soft pressure/jawboning by government officials. Also includes claims of harm flowing from an online service’s alleged failure to block, report, or remove particular information, except that such claims relating to minors are covered under 1.c. Children’s Privacy & Safety.
   4. Product Liability & 3D Printing: Product liability-related claims related to the sale of physical items on online marketplaces, as well as legal issues arising out of the distribution of code for the creation of physical items (e.g., firearms). Product liability/negligence claims related to the operation of online speech platforms are covered under 3.c. Content Moderation or 1.c. Children’s Privacy & Safety, as appropriate.
   5. Terms of Service & Other Contracts: Formation, interpretation and enforcement of online agreements, including disputes over arbitration clauses in online terms.
      
4. Other Content Liability: Issues related to liability for speech other than privacy or intellectual property claims. Rare content liability issues (e.g., prosecutions for obscenity) fall under Section 8 (Miscellaneous) unless a critical mass is reached warranting a new category here.
   1. Defamation: Defamation, business disparagement, false light, and other legal issues related to harm allegedly arising from false statements.
   2. Commercial Speech: False advertising and unfair trade practices lawsuits, plus SEC and FTC regulatory activity not covered elsewhere.
   3. Professional Speech: Regulation of professional speech and First Amendment lawsuits challenging the same, plus disciplinary action against regulated practitioners for their speech-related activity.
   4. Threats/Intimidation/Harassment: Legal issues arising from online threats, intimidation, and harassment. Includes claims for online incitement to violence.
      
5. Infrastructure: Issues related to the technological, financial, or corporate infrastructure of online communication.
   1. Accessibility/Affordability/Discrimination: Issues related to protecting access to internet services and individual apps and websites, including affordability programs and anti-discrimination law. Also includes deliberate efforts by government actors to block internet access. Blocking of particular users from online platforms is covered under 3.c. Content Moderation.
   2. Antitrust: Lawsuits and regulatory activity related to competition between online services.
   3. Net Neutrality/Data Throttling: Issues related to the intentional favoring or disfavoring of particular content by internet access providers & pipelines (as opposed to platform operators, which are covered under 3.c. Content Moderation).
   4. Domain Name System: Governance of the domain name system for relating domain names to IP addresses.
   5. Taxation & Compelled Payments: Taxation of online services or particular online content, plus other compelled payments by tech companies to governments or third parties (e.g., mandatory payment for news content).
   6. Wire & Wireless Deployment: Issues related to the rollout of internet access and capacity in whatever medium, including terrestrial wireless, satellite, fiber, and other media.
   7. Artificial Intelligence: Government regulation of AI systems and voluntary governance by AI companies; use of AI within the legal system; effect of AI upon news, publishing, sports, and entertainment industries. Copyright issues related to AI are covered under 2.a. Copyright; lawsuits arising out of deepfakes are covered under either 1.d. Rights of Publicity or 1.f. Manipulated Media, as appropriate.
   8. Blockchain & Cryptocurrency: Regulation and judicial activity related to blockchain-based currencies, securities, and other assets.
      
6. Government Activity: Surveillance, oversight, restriction, and use of online communication by governments and government officials.
   1. Data Surveillance/Collection/Demands/Seizures: Efforts by government to track online activity and to collect other personal information about individuals from digital devices and sources. Includes both direct government interception and collection of data as well as attempts to compel tech companies to disclose that information and/or to purchase that information from third-party sources. Efforts to compel platforms to identify anonymous online speakers are covered under 1.a. Anonymity/Pseudonymity. Efforts to access encrypted devices are covered under 6.b. Encryption. Government collection and use of biometric data is covered under 6.c. Biometric Tracking.
   2. Encryption: Includes legislative and regulatory activity seeking to restrict the use of encryption, attempts to compel individuals to decrypt information, and government efforts to hack encrypted devices.
   3. Biometric Tracking: Government efforts to collect biometric information about individuals and to identify and to track individuals using that data.
   4. Domain Seizure: Government seizure of internet domains, most often in connection with law enforcement activity.
   5. Social Media Posts & Blocking: Social media activity by government employees, lawsuits over the discipline of government employees for social media activity, and lawsuits over blocking of constituents from access to government officials’ social media posts and spaces.
   6. Prior Restraint: Legal issues arising out of the exercise of government authority to prohibit online speech or to compel the removal of online content. Includes both judicial orders and statutes creating a system of prior restraints (e.g., Daniel’s Law).
   7. Online Access to Government Information: The provision of government information online and efforts to remove or to restrict the same. Also includes efforts by private actors to preserve online government information against deletion.
      
7. Global: Includes legal developments outside of the United States. Items are tagged with country/region names in the “Country/Region” field. Specific interactions between the U.S. government and foreign governments are also covered here. Sub-topics for “Global” items are drawn from the other categories, except for the following:
   1. Speech Regimes: Issues not falling into another sub-topic related to the operation of non-U.S. speech environments and/or issues related to the suppression of freedom of expression.
   2. Threats to Infrastructure: Actions by non-U.S. governments to damage or to disable internet infrastructure, or threats to do the same. Internet shutdowns not involving physical damage to infrastructure are covered under 5.a. Accessibility/Affordability/Discrimination.
      
8. Miscellaneous: Discrete issues not clearly falling into other categories and/or not common enough to warrant a top-level category of their own.
   1. Gambling & Prediction Markets: Issues arising out of the operation of gambling and prediction markets. Lawsuits alleging that social media and other broad platforms allow illegal gambling activity on their services are covered under 3.c. Content Moderation.
   2. Video Games: Special issues related to video games not covered elsewhere, such as legal issues arising out of the obsolescence of, or disabling of support for, video games dependent on online resources.
   3. Student Speech: Issues arising out of the discipline of students (at any level of education) for online activity.
   4. Drones & Newsgathering: Regulation of drone use; other newsgathering issues related to native online news platforms.
   5. Influencers & Social Media Stunts: Issues involving influencers not covered elsewhere, including legal issues arising out of stunts performed for the purpose of creating online content.
   6. Internet Jurisdiction: Decisions principally related to the proper jurisdiction and venue in which to pursue legal claims related to online activity.
   7. Ballot Selfies: Restrictions and lawsuits related to polling place and ballot photography
   8. All the Rest: The true miscellany, for items not falling into any other category.