The arguments in the State Department’s opposition to expedited preliminary injunction discovery in the First Amendment case brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and the right-leaning Daily Wire and Federalist media outlets lack merit, said the plaintiffs’ reply Wednesday (docket 6:23-cv-00609) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas in Tyler in support of that expedited discovery.

Two streaming video apps violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by integrating Meta tracking code into their platforms to disclose subscribers’ video viewing history to Meta for advertising and marketing purposes, said separate class actions against MLB.tv and FitOn.

Walla Walla, Washington, seeks summary judgment against AT&T’s claim that the city violated Section 332 of the Telecommunications Act. It's challenging AT&T's contention that a city hearing examiner’s denial of its application to build a 65-foot cell tower wasn’t supported by substantial evidence (see 2312040002), said Walla Walla’s motion Wednesday (docket 4:23-cv-05162) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington in Richland.

The proposed class in a fraud class action challenging a Ponzi scheme involving bogus overseas licensing rights for HBO and Netflix films is owed $300 million for amounts loaned in 2018 and 2019, alleged AVR Group, Trident Asset Management and Illinois resident Michael Dziurgot in a fraud complaint Tuesday (docket 1:24-cv-20755) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Miami.

A data breach at Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFlex) in Irvine, California, was a direct result of the printed circuit manufacturer’s failure to implement adequate cybersecurity procedures to protect employees’ and beneficiaries’ personally identifiable information (PII) from a “foreseeable and preventable” cyberattack, alleged a class action Tuesday (docket 8:24-cv-00400) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford for Western New York in Rochester found in favor of Crown Castle, Extenet and Verizon on their consolidated claim that Rochester violated Sections 253 and 332 of the Telecommunications Act in the unlawful manner in which it assessed fees for telecom deployments within its jurisdiction, said her signed decision and order Tuesday (dockets 6:19-cv-06583, 6:20-cv-06866 and 6:20-cv-07129). A two-day bench trial was convened in early June (see 2212200065).

OpenAI’s AI products use “stolen" personally identifiable information (PII) from “hundreds of millions of internet users,” including children, without their "informed consent or knowledge," alleged a class action Tuesday (docket 3:24-cv-01190) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.

Here are Communications Litigation Today's top stories from last week, in case you missed them. Each can be found by searching on its title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

If the U.S. Supreme Court blocks social media laws in Florida and Texas, it could have a chilling effect on states trying to regulate online content, a panel of experts said Tuesday. Speaking at a Federalist Society webinar event, panelists said a ruling bolstering the tech industry’s First Amendment rights could jeopardize the constitutionality of laws aimed at regulating kids’ online safety. The Supreme Court held oral argument Monday in NetChoice v. Paxton (22-555) and Moody v. NetChoice (22-277) (see 2402260051).

A law firm settling a federal class action in state court “to increase attorneys’ fees at the expense of the class’s recovery improperly ‘subordinates the interests of the class to its own interests,'" said intervenors’ memorandum in support of intervention Friday (docket 3:21-cv-08592) in a 2021 fraud class action over hidden Verizon fees.