Jonathan Mollod
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Back in October 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google, an appeal that challenged whether YouTube’s targeted algorithmic recommendations qualify as “traditional editorial functions” protected by the CDA — or, rather, whether such recommendations are not the actions of a “publisher” and thus fall outside of CDA immunity. At the time, some … Continue Reading
At the close of 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Digital Fair Repair Act” (S4101A/A7006-B) (to be codified at N.Y. GBL §399-nn) (the “Act”). The law makes New York the first state in the country to pass a consumer electronics right-to-repair law.[1] Similar bills are pending in other states. The Act is a … Continue Reading
Since the passage of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act (“CDA”), the majority of federal circuits have interpreted the CDA to establish broad federal immunity to causes of action that would treat service providers as publishers of content provided by third parties. The CDA was passed in the early days of e-commerce and was … Continue Reading
On August 29, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a complaint against Kochava, Inc. (“Kochava”), a digital marketing and analytics firm, seeking an order halting Kochava’s alleged acquisition and downstream sale of “massive amounts” of precise geolocation data collected from consumers’ mobile devices. The complaint alleges that the data is … Continue Reading
On August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and announced it was exploring a rulemaking process to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance” and lax data security. The agency defines commercial surveillance as “the collection, aggregation, analysis, retention, transfer, or monetization of consumer data and the … Continue Reading
Web 3.0 and the promise of the metaverse has generated excitement about new markets for businesses large and small. But as with any technological frontier, legal uncertainties cause new risks to emerge alongside the opportunities. One area currently full of legal questions is trademark law. We will examine what we see as three of the biggest open … Continue Reading
The concept of the “metaverse” has garnered much press coverage of late, addressing such topics as the new appetite for metaverse investment opportunities, a recent virtual land boom, or just the promise of it all, where “crypto, gaming and capitalism collide.” The term “metaverse,” which comes from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” … Continue Reading
In a closely-watched appeal, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, reversed an Eleventh Circuit decision and adopted a narrow interpretation of “exceeds unauthorized access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), ruling that an individual “exceeds authorized access” when he or she accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in … Continue Reading
In a narrowly drawn, yet significant decision, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit and ruled that Google LLC’s (“Google”) copying of some of the Sun Java Application Programming Interface (API) declaring code was a fair use as a matter of law, ending Oracle America Inc.’s (“Oracle”) infringement claims over Google’s use of portions of … Continue Reading
Our Practical Law article, “Trends in Privacy and Data Security: 2020,” has recently been published. The article provides an overview of the past year’s privacy and data security legal developments and predictions to look out for in 2021.… Continue Reading
That Was Close! The Supreme Court Declines Opportunity to Address CDA Immunity in Social Media
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Internet, Online Commerce, Online Content, Social Media
New York Enacts First State “Right-to-Repair” Law
By Jeffrey Neuburger, Kathie Duperval and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Contracts, Copyright, Legislation, Online Commerce, Technology
Important CDA Section 230 Case Lands in Supreme Court: Level of Protection Afforded Modern Online Platforms at Stake
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Internet, Online Commerce, Online Content, Social Media
FTC Sues Data Provider over the Collection and Sale of Geolocation Data
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Alternative Data, Mobile, Privacy, Regulatory
Businesses That Use Consumer Data or Data Products (Everyone?) Take Heed: FTC Moves Ahead with Rulemaking Process on “Commercial Surveillance” Practices
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Mobile, Privacy, Regulatory
Three Questions Brands Must Ask about Trademarks and the Metaverse
By Peter Cramer, Wai Choy and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in First Amendment, Internet, Social Media, Trademark
In the Coming ‘Metaverse’, There May Be Excitement but There Certainly Will Be Legal Issues
Supreme Court Ends Long-Running Circuit Split over CFAA “Exceeds Authorized Access” Issue, Adopting a Narrow Interpretation That Will Reverberate in Scraping Disputes and Litigation over Departing Employees
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Security, Screen Scraping
Landmark Fair Use Victory at the Supreme Court in Software Case
By Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks, Jonathan Mollod, David Munkittrick, Jeffrey Neuburger and Anisha Shenai-Khatkhate on Posted in Copyright, Mobile, Software
Noteworthy Trends in Privacy and Data Security
By Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Data Security, Privacy
