Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

July 30, 2024
Judge Rejects ‘Unconscionable’ Arbitration Of Class Suit Against Gaming Company

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a gaming company and its co-founders’ motion to compel arbitration of putative class claims against them for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by falsely advertising their mobile games as offering live competition, finding that the arbitration agreement contained provisions that would likely cause “years” of delay.
July 30, 2024
Meta Will Pay $1.4 Billion To Settle Texas’ Biometric Data Privacy Lawsuit

MARSHALL, Texas — Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., will pay $1.4 billion to end claims by Texas that it captured and used the personal biometric data of millions of state residents, according to an agreed final judgment filed in a Texas court on July 30.
July 30, 2024
Federal Circuit: Regulation Applies To Amended Claims In Internet Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute between a software company and Apple and Motorola over a patent regarding how internet content is displayed on mobile devices, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that a regulation addressing estoppel provisions in patent office proceedings is valid but vacated and remanded the board’s decision in two reexamination proceedings for it to reconsider the regulation’s application to previously issued claims.
July 29, 2024
Student-Athletes Seek Preliminary Approval Of $2.5B NIL Settlement

OAKLAND, Calif. — College athletes who have accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and five conferences of violating the Sherman Act by restricting compensation for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) filed a motion July 26 in a federal court in California for preliminary approval of a $2,576,000,000 settlement, which the players say will “reshape the economic landscape of college sports.”
July 26, 2024
Judge Refuses To Toss Dispute Between Disney And Actor Over Social Media Posts

LOS ANGELES — A California federal court judge denied Disney’s motion to dismiss a wrongful discharge case filed by an actor who was fired from the Disney+ show The Mandalorian purportedly due to the posts she made on social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram, finding that Disney failed to show that it engaged in expressive association that is protected under the First Amendment.
July 26, 2024
In 1st Impression Case, Panel Says Snapchat, Meta Must Provide Subpoenaed Info

SAN DIEGO — In a case of first impression, a California appellate court granted petitions for writs of mandate, ruling that the Stored Communications Act’s (SCA) disclosure limitations are inapplicable to bar compliance with subpoenas requesting access to social media posts made by a murder victim on Facebook and Snapchat because the platforms’ decisions to access their “users’ communications” puts them outside the SCA’s disclosure limitations.
July 25, 2024
Hospice Files Defamation Suit Against Anonymous Google Reviewers

LOS ANGELES — Alleging that it is being targeted by a business competitor who has “coordinated” the posting of “fake” negative reviews online, a hospice filed a lawsuit in California state court asserting claims against 1,000 John Does who posted the negative reviews for defamation and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
July 23, 2024
Magistrate Grants Adult Video Company’s Bid To Serve ISP In Illegal Download Row

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge on July 22 granted in part a motion filed by an adult video company to serve the internet service provider (ISP) of an unknown defendant accused of copyright infringement related to alleged illegal downloading and distributing of the video company’s content, finding that because serving the ISP is necessary for the company to proceed in this case, the company may serve the ISP with specified protections regarding identifying information.
July 22, 2024
9th Circuit Hears Arguments On X Corp.’s Appeal As To Social Media Moderating Bill

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in an appeal by X Corp., formerly known as Twitter Inc., of a district court order denying its request for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the enforcement of California legislation requiring social media companies to post their terms of service reports twice a year, which X Corp. argues violates its free speech rights.
July 18, 2024
Panel Remands For Discovery Cost Calculations In Dispute Between Gamer And Twitch

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate court on July 17 reversed a lower court’s order denying an online gamer’s motion to tax or strike Twitch Interactive’s electronic discovery costs in the gamer’s breach of contract suit against Twitch for suspending his Twitch account, finding that remand is required for a correct determination of Twitch’s discovery costs.
July 17, 2024
Federal Judge: Trademark Claims Over Social Media Giant’s Use Of ‘X’ Can Continue

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida largely denied a motion to dismiss from the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., finding that a much smaller social media advertising company adequately supported its claims that the social media giant infringed on its “X SOCIALMEDIA” trademark when it rebranded to X Corp. after being purchased by Elon Musk.
July 17, 2024
Judge Won’t Freeze Assets Of Electronics Company Accused Of Faking Online Reviews

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on July 16 denied a consumer’s motion for a preliminary injunction freezing more than $5 million of a Chinese manufacturer-owned company’s assets pending the outcome of his lawsuit accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes for allegedly faking reviews on Amazon.com to sell shoddy electronics, finding insufficient evidence of damages.
July 17, 2024
Rehearing Granted In GoDaddy TCPA Suit, Class Settlement Opinion Clarified

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 16 granted a petition for panel rehearing filed after a May opinion vacated a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class settlement with GoDaddy.com LLC and issued an opinion substituting its previous opinion with one that was “the same as our previous except that we clarify that the opinion of this Court is delivered solely in Section III.C.iii, in which” the entire panel joined; the class’ rehearing petition sought clarification for “the basis of” the May decision, arguing that the opinion titled “Opinion of the Court” was not actually that.
July 15, 2024
Connecticut Court Hears Arguments On CDA Immunity In Snapchat Assault Suit

WATERBURY, Conn. — Snap Inc., which operates the Snapchat social network, squared off in Connecticut court against the parents of a minor who was sexually assaulted by two men that she met through the platform, with the social media company asserting that it is immune from liability for the rapists’ actions under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
July 12, 2024
DMCA Claims In GitHub AI License Dispute Dismissed For 3rd, Final Time

OAKLAND, Calif. — John Doe defendants suing GitHub Inc. and others for a purported lack of attribution of their shared materials in artificial intelligence (AI) products saw their claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) dismissed for a third time, this time with prejudice.
July 12, 2024
Anonymous Messaging App And Founders Must Pay $5M, Ban Minors Under Consent Order

LOS ANGELES — The Federal Trade Commission and the state of California jointly filed a consent order in California federal court with a company that operates an anonymous messaging app and two of its founders requiring the defendants to pay $5 million and permanently enjoining the company from allowing minors to use its app, resolving claims that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.
July 12, 2024
Judge Finds Verdict For Epic In Google Play Antitrust Row Supported By Evidence

SAN FRANCISCO — More than three months after denying a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) by Google Inc. in its antitrust dispute with Epic Games Inc. over the Android app market, a California federal judge issued an order with a “detailed explanation” for why a jury verdict in Epic’s favor was supported by substantial evidence and why the defendant was not entitled to a new trial.
July 11, 2024
Split 9th Circuit: Equal Rights Protections Include U.S. Citizenship Bias

HONOLULU — Equal rights protections in 42 U.S. Code Section 1981 prohibit citizenship or alienage discrimination of U.S. citizens in hiring, a divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, reversing a trial court’s dismissal of putative class discrimination claims by a naturalized U.S. citizen and creating a split with the Fifth Circuit’s 1986 decision in Chaiffetz v. Robertson Research Holding, Ltd.
July 10, 2024
Denying FTC’s Motion To Compel Amazon Messages, Judge Instead Orders Deposition

SEATTLE — Acknowledging that production of Amazon.com Inc.’s internal litigation hold notices may ultimately be necessary to establish if any spoliation occurred due to its employees’ use of an ephemeral messaging app related to antitrust claims against it, a Washington federal judge on July 9 denied a motion by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to compel production of the notices, which are not generally discoverable, deeming it more appropriate for the commission to first depose an Amazon representative on the matter.
July 09, 2024
Class Seeks Rehearing After Settlement, Attorney Fees Vacated In GoDaddy TCPA Suit

ATLANTA — A class whose Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) settlement with GoDaddy.com LLC was vacated by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in May filed a petition for panel rehearing seeking clarification for “the basis of its decision.”
July 09, 2024
DOJ Tells Supreme Court Trump Twitter Warrant Complied With 1st Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Opposing a petition for certiorari by X Corp. (formerly known as Twitter Inc.), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) tells the U.S. Supreme Court that a warrant that it obtained to search former President Donald J. Trump’s Twitter account and an accompanying nondisclosure order (NDO) did not violate executive privilege because they were issued in accordance with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Stored Communications Act (SCA).
July 08, 2024
Federal Judge: DraftKings Customer Plausibly Shows Company’s NFTs Are Securities

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts held that a customer of an online sports gambling company adequately showed that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) sold by the company are a security under a long-standing test, denying a motion from the company and certain of its executives to dismiss the customer’s putative class complaint alleging that the company sold unregistered securities in violation of federal law.
July 03, 2024
Justice Thomas Dissents From Certiorari Denial In Snapchat Section 230 Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 2 denial of certiorari for a John Doe defendant seeking to hold Snap Inc. liable for purportedly failing to protect minors from online predators, Justice Clarence Thomas took the opportunity to again voice his opinion that the high court should review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to ensure that it is not being used too broadly by social media platforms and other providers of interactive computer services (ICSs).
July 03, 2024
Suspended Twitter User’s 1st Amendment State Actor Certiorari Petition Denied

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Less than a week after it found that social media users with suspended accounts did not have standing in a suit alleging violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by federal government parties, the U.S. Supreme Court on July 2 denied a petition for certiorari by a Twitter user who brought similar claims against California government officials.
July 02, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Texas Porn Age Verification Law Is Constitutional

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on July 2 granted certiorari to a group of adult entertainment industry petitioners that are challenging the constitutionality of a recently passed Texas law that requires the operators of pornographic websites to verify that their visitors are adults.