Federal courts have held for decades that interactive computer services cannot be considered publishers for the purpose of determining liability to users for content published by third parties. This area of the law was developed in the infancy of the internet, and technology has advanced leaps and bounds faster than the law has.

The relevant statute in these cases is 47 U.S.C. § 230 (the Communications Decency Act of 1996), which states that “no provider or use of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” In lay terms, online media platforms (think YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that host content created and/or shared by third-party users cannot be held liable unless the provider is directly responsible for creating it.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. However, a litigant must have the standing to challenge a governmental action under the Fourth Amendment. To establish Fourth Amendment standing, a party must show that their reasonable expectations of privacy have been infringed upon. In the context of mail, standing can present a unique obstacle for a claimant. The Circuit Courts have disagreed about what reasonable privacy expectations an individual who uses a nickname or alias has in the mail they intend to send or receive.

Karen Hepp is a news anchor for Fox 29 in Philadelphia. In 2019, she filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Facebook after discovering that the company was advertising a dating website using her image. The claim pertinent here was a violation of Pennsylvania’s right of publicity law. Since Hepp was a public figure who depended on a carefully cultivated image for her success, she argued that her image on a dating website without her authorization jeopardized that image. The District Court dismissed her state law claims on the basis that Section 230 only exempted federal intellectual property claims from immunity.

Are state law claims for violation of a right to publicity immunized from lawsuits by Section 230 of the CDA?

When it comes to civilians recording police actions, the First Amendment and doctrine of qualified immunity often come into conflict with each other.

Is there a First Amendment right to record the police in public, and does this right outweigh the doctrine of qualified immunity?

It’s always a terrible feeling to be late. It can incite panic as you rush to finish a task. Being late by just one day has disqualified mayoral and Presidential candidates from making it onto the ballot. In the bankruptcy context, being a day late can prevent you from escaping from sizable debts. If only you had one day more!