Eleven Kentucky school districts and one in Oregon added their names Thursday to the ranks of districts nationwide bringing lawsuits against social media companies for their alleged roles in a growing youth mental health crisis in the U.S.
Section 230
Thursday’s hearing on alleged collusion between tech and Biden administration officials was a “disgrace” because Republicans refused to allow cross-examination of two witnesses, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R), Democrats said during a hearing before House Judiciary Committee members.
NetChoice announced the creation of an “official litigation center” to defend “free expression and free enterprise” in court against government overreach. The center “will be the go-to source for the future of American tech litigation, to ensure the internet remains safe and free as it ages,” said Director Chris Marchese Tuesday. NetChoice named Nicole Saad Bembridge associate director. NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo will also help lead the litigation center. NetChoice has mounted legal efforts against various state laws on privacy and Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2303060047, 2302140081 and 2301030062).
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty for Louisiana's Western District in Monroe largely denied a motion Monday to dismiss a censorship complaint from the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana seeking an injunction against President Joe Biden, several federal officials and companies.
Roomster demands a trial by jury on all the fraud claims brought against it by the FTC and five states to thwart its alleged proliferation of fake positive reviews online, said the company’s filing Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-07389) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York. Roomster’s motions for dismissal, to stay discovery and for a protective order were denied last month on grounds that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act doesn't shield Roomster from its alleged violations of federal and state consumer protection laws (see 2302030034).
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.
California’s age-appropriate social media design law should be thrown out because it’s preempted by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (see 2212140063 and 2301310034), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the U.S. District Court for Northern California in an amicus brief Friday in support of NetChoice (docket 5:22-cv-08861).
The Supreme Court appeared to side with Google and Twitter in two days of oral argument last week, but the justices will likely set new precedent for Communications Decency Act Section 230 and social media liability when rulings come down, legal experts said in interviews. The high court heard oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google (docket 21-1333) (see 2302210062) and Twitter v. Taamneh (docket 21-1496) (see 2302220065). Rulings are expected in June.
Three Communications Decency Act Section 230 class actions against Meta and other social media platforms were transferred and consolidated under U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for Northern California in Oakland, said a Feb. 15 conditional transfer order (docket 2:23-cv-00172) from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Since the panel transferred 20 similar civil actions to the same court Oct. 6, 46 additional actions have been transferred and assigned to Rogers, said the order. The three newest cases -- filed by school districts in Kent, Washington (see 2301110029), Mesa Public Schools in Arizona (see 2301270067), and the Seattle School District -- involve questions of fact common to the previously transferred actions, it said.
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.