New Media and Technology Law Blog
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Jeffrey Neuburger

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Jeffrey Neuburger is a partner, co-head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group, a member of the Privacy & Cybersecurity Group and editor of the firm’s New Media and Technology Law blog.

Jeff’s practice focuses on technology, media and advertising-related business transactions and counseling, including the utilization of emerging technology and distribution methods in business. For example, Jeff represents clients in online strategies associated with advertising, products, services and content commercialized on the Internet through broadband channels, mobile platforms, broadcast and cable television distribution and print publishing. He also represents many organizations in large infrastructure-related projects, such as outsourcing, technology acquisitions, cloud computing initiatives and related services agreements.

Serving as a collaborative business partner through our clients’ biggest challenges, Jeff is part of the Firm’s cross-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Coronavirus Response Team helping to shape the guidance and next steps for clients impacted by the pandemic.

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Some Interesting CDA Section 230 Developments: A Novel FCRA Victory, a Negligent Design Exception and a Startling New State Law

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Mobile, Online Content, Social Media
In the past month, there have been some notable developments surrounding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA” or “Section 230”) beyond the ongoing debate in Congress over the potential for legislative reform. These include a novel application of CDA in a FCRA online privacy case (Henderson v. The Source for Public Data, No. … Continue Reading

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
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

The President Revokes Prior Administration’s Executive Order on CDA Section 230

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Online Content, Social Media
On May 14, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order revoking, among other things, his predecessor’s action (Executive Order 13295 of May 28, 2020) that directed the executive branch to clarify certain provisions under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230” or the “CDA”) and remedy what former President Trump had claimed was … Continue Reading

Plaid Federal Electronic Surveillance Claims Dropped, Privacy Claims Survive

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Mobile, Online Commerce, Privacy
On April 30, 2021 a California district court trimmed various federal privacy-related claims, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) claim, from a highly-visible, ongoing putative class action against fintech services company Plaid Inc. (“Plaid”), but allowed other state law privacy claims to go forward.  The lawsuit involves Plaid’s alleged collection and use of … Continue Reading

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
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

Mobile App Platform Entitled to CDA Immunity over State Law Claims Related to In-App Purchases of Loot Boxes

By Jeffrey Neuburger and Frances P. Kelley on Posted in Mobile, Online Commerce, Social Media
Happy Silver Anniversary to Section 230 of Communications Decency Act (“CDA” or “Section 230”), which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in February 1996. At that time, Congress enacted CDA Section 230 in response to case law that raised the specter of liability for any online service provider that attempted to moderate its … Continue Reading

Group of Democratic Senators Release Latest CDA Reform Bill

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Internet, Legislation, Online Content, Social Media
With the change in administrations in Washington, there has been a drive to enact or amend legislation in a variety of areas. However, most initiatives lack the zeal found with the bipartisan interest in “reining in social media” and pursuing reforms to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).  As we have documented,, the parade … Continue Reading

Southwest Airlines Sues to Stop Web Scraping of Fare Information

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Contracts, Internet, Online Commerce, Screen Scraping
On January 14, 2021, Southwest Airlines Co. (“Southwest”) filed a complaint in a Texas district court against an online travel site, Kiwi.com, Inc. (“Kiwi”), alleging, among other things, that Kiwi’s scraping of fare information from Southwest’s website constituted a breach of contract and a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). (Southwest Airlines … Continue Reading

How to Respond to the SolarWinds “Orion” Supply Chain Attack

By Jeffrey Neuburger, Ryan P. Blaney, Margaret A. Dale and Nolan Goldberg on Posted in Contracts, Data Security, Software
As reported last week, it appears that a state-sponsored security hack has resulted in a major security compromise in widely-used software offered by a company called SolarWinds. The compromised software, known as Orion, is enterprise network management software that helps organizations manage their networks, servers and networked devices. The software is widely-used by both public … Continue Reading

Mobile Platforms to Block Data Broker from Collecting User Location Data

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Mobile, Privacy, Technology
On December 9, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and Google will block the data broker X-Mode Social Inc. (“X-Mode”) from collecting location data from iPhone and Android users. Apple and Google have reportedly informed app developers to remove the X-Mode social tracking SDK from all of their apps within a short period … Continue Reading

New York’s Automatic Renewal Law Coming in February 2021: New Compliance Issues to Follow

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Contracts, Legislation, Online Commerce
New York has enacted a new law, effective February 9, 2021, regulating automatic renewal and some “free trial” type agreements. While some organizations may have already taken steps to be in compliance with industry requirements, the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), and similar auto-renewal laws in place in California and other states, all … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Its First CFAA Case

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Security, Screen Scraping
On November 30, 2020, the Supreme Court held oral argument in its first case interpreting the “unauthorized access” provision of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The CFAA in part prohibits knowingly accessing a computer “without authorization” or “exceeding authorized access” to a computer and thereby obtaining information and causing a “loss” under the … Continue Reading

CDA “Reform” on the Horizon: Investors and Operators Take Note

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Internet, Online Commerce, Online Content, Social Media
The appetite for acquisitions and investment in online businesses has never been stronger, with many of the most attractive online opportunities being businesses that host, manage and leverage user-generated content.  These businesses often rely on the immunities offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230 (“Section 230” or the “CDA”) to … Continue Reading

Facebook Brings Suit against Developers of a Browser Extension That Harvested User Data

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Contracts, Internet, Online Content, Screen Scraping, Social Media
In continuing its efforts to enforce its terms and policies against developers that engage in unauthorized scraping of user data, this week Facebook brought suit against two marketing analytics firms, BrandTotal Ltd (“BrandTotal”) and Unimania, Inc. (“Unimania”) (collectively, the “Defendants”) (Facebook, Inc. v. BrandTotal Ltd., No. 20Civ04246 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Mateo Cty Filed Oct. … Continue Reading

DOJ Submits CDA Reform Proposal to Congress to Curtail Protections for Online Platforms

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Internet, Legislation, Online Commerce, Online Content, Social Media
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230 (“Section 230” or the “CDA”), enacted in 1996, is generally viewed as the most important statute supporting the growth of Internet commerce.  The key provision of the CDA, Section 230(c)(1)(a), only 26 words long, simply states: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service … Continue Reading

Thoughtful Presentations of Terms of Use Crucial for Enforceability

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Contracts, Internet, Mobile, Online Commerce
Many online services feature comprehensive terms of use intended to protect their business from various types of risks.  While it is often the case that a great deal of thought goes into the creation of those terms, frequently less attention is paid to how those terms are actually presented to users of the service. As … Continue Reading

Financial Data Aggregator Faces Consumer Privacy Suit over “Surreptitious” Collection of Banking Information

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Mobile, Online Commerce, Privacy
Last week, a putative privacy-related class action was filed in California district court against financial analytics firm Envestnet, Inc. (“Envestnet”), which operates Yodlee, Inc. (“Yodlee”). (Wesch v. Yodlee Inc., No. 20-05991 (N.D. Cal. filed Aug. 25, 2020)). According to the complaint, Yodlee is one of the largest financial data aggregators in the world and through … Continue Reading

Eclipsed by Evolving Law, Policy and Technology, Seminal Mobile Location Data Case Settled

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Contracts, Mobile, Privacy
This past week, the operator of the popular Weather Channel (“TWC”) mobile phone app entered into a Stipulation of Settlement with the Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer (“City Attorney”), closing the books on one of the first litigations to focus on the collection of locational data through mobile phones. (People v. TWC Product and … Continue Reading

Commerce Dept. Petitions FCC to Issue Rules Clarifying CDA Section 230

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Internet, Online Commerce, Online Content, Regulatory, Social Media
The currents around the Communications Decency Act just got a little more turbulent as the White House and executive branch try to reel in the big fish of CDA reform. On July 27, 2020, the Commerce Department submitted a petition requesting the FCC initiate a rulemaking to clarify the provisions of Section 230 of the … Continue Reading

The Communication Decency Act and the DOJ’s Proposed Solution: No Easy Answers

By Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Internet, Online Content, Social Media
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”), 47 U.S.C. §230, enacted in 1996, is often cited as the most important law supporting the Internet, e-commerce and the online economy. Yet, it continues to be subject to intense criticism, including from politicians from both sides of the aisle. Many argue that the CDA has been … Continue Reading
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