On May 16, 2008 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed with a number of other courts, holding that the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) (47 U.S.C. Sec. 230) protects social networking websites from liability with respect to negligence claims based on third-party content published on the website and the consequences stemming from … Continue Reading
Website Operator Can Be Held Liable for State Intellectual Property Violations A federal district court in New Hampshire recently ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”) does not prevent a state law right of publicity claim against a Website operator. In Doe v. Friendfinder Network, Inc., No. 07-286, 2008 WL 803947 … Continue Reading
Imagine a website that allows people to post comments or content anonymously, to protect their privacy. Pretty common. Now imagine that the website assists the poster through an interactive online questionnaire seeking specific categories of information. Under a new ruling of the Ninth Circuit, the anonymous poster who provides the information may escape detection and liability, while the website operator may be held responsible. This is a big change in the law of website operator immunity.
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One update this week, and news regarding a significant new California Supreme Court decision on distributor immunity for defamatory Internet publications. New AG Position on Prop 83 We previously reported on cases challenging recently passed Proposition 83, which increases penalties and parole terms for many sex crimes, requires felony sex offenders to wear GPS tracking … Continue Reading
