These days, some of tech’s most important decisions are being made inside courtrooms. Google and Facebook are fending off antitrust accusations, while patent suits determine how much control of their own products they can have. The slow fight over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act threatens platforms like Twitter and YouTube with untold liability suits for the content they host. Gig economy companies like Uber and Airbnb are fighting for their very existence as their workers push for the protections of full-time employees. In each case, judges and juries are setting the rules about exactly how far tech companies can push the envelope and exactly how much protection everyday people have. This is where we keep track of those legal fights and the broader principles behind them. When you move fast and break things, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when you end up in court.
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order imposing the fine, which DoNotPay agreed to last year. In addition, the company is forbidden from deceptively advertising, without proof, that its “so-called robot lawyer” is as good as a human lawyer.
The agency approved the order by 5–0 on January 16th, prior to former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s exit and replacement with Andrew Ferguson.
Lawyers representing President Trump, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and what is now X moved to dismiss Trump’s pending case before the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, reports Bloomberg.
He was appealing the dismissal of a lawsuit that accused Twitter, which is now owned by DOGE head Elon Musk, of violating the First Amendment when it banned his account in 2021.
President Donald Trump now claims that because of the network’s 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, “significant viewership was improperly diverted to Defendants’ media platforms, resulting in lower consumer engagement, advertising revenues, and profits by TMTG and President Trump’s other media holdings.” reports Deadline.
The amended suit also doubles its damages claim to $20 billion. CBS parent company Paramount Global has reportedly been considering settling, rather than fighting, the lawsuit.
The billionaire is taking over the federal government and remaking it in Twitter’s image.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr said he expects CBS News to submit a transcript of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris by the end of the day, writes The Wrap.
This submission is related to a complaint from rightwing group Center for American Rights over the episode’s editing. The Wrap notes that former FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel had previously dismissed the filing, accusing the group of “seeking to weaponize” the regulator.
Last fall, Megan Garcia sued Character.AI, its founders, and Google over the death by suicide of her 14-year-old son, who had chatted continuously with its bots, including just before his death. In December, the firm added safety measures aimed at teens and concerns over addiction.
TechCrunch reports that Character.ai has filed a motion to dismiss the case, which you can read in full here.
Media watchdog Ofcom has finalized its guidelines on new age verification requirements for adult content, with approved methods including face scans, credit card checks, and “email-based age estimation.” Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could decide whether similar age verification laws are constitutional in the US.
Everyone (including yes, The Verge) is watching for a Supreme Court decision on the TikTok ban today, but there’s another big oral argument being heard at 10AM ET: Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which could reset a 21-year-old precedent effectively barring strict online age verification and decide the fate of numerous state laws. Audio, as usual, will be streamed on the Supreme Court site.
The lawsuit joins other complaints filed since YouTuber MegaLag’s video accusing PayPal’s coupon-hunting Honey extension of hijacking affiliate links. The Legal Eagle channel filed one earlier this month as well.
The 90-minute video recaps the concerns raised in MegaLag’s original video and includes interviews with lawyers explaining the legal process.
Kate Knibbs of Wired recaps a hearing today for The New York Times’ very expensive lawsuit against OpenAI. The takeaway: everyone seems confused. Expect a decision on whether to dismiss the case “in due course.”
The US Supreme Court denied petitions from fossil fuel companies seeking to thwart a climate lawsuit filed against them — allowing the case to go to trial.
The city and county of Honolulu filed suit against Sunoco, Shell, and other oil companies accusing them of a “coordinated, multi-front effort to conceal and deny their own knowledge” of threats their products pose through climate change.
Two people have been arrested in California for flying unauthorized drones in areas impacted by the LA wildfires, according to a police report seen by Deadline.
The arrests follow a collision last Thursday between a civilian drone and a “Super Scooper” that was fighting the blazes, grounding the plane. The FAA says it’s investigating the incident. LA airspace restrictions are in place until January 25th.
Legal writer Eric Goldman pens his expert take on the state of internet law going into the new year, including generative AI, online speech, and Section 230:
Section 230 is on the extinction watch list in 2025. I will be shocked if it survives to see 2026. If you don’t already have a Section 230 tattoo, now is probably not the time to get one.
The silver lining is that I have a “no monuments to the living” tattoo policy, so apparently it’s exactly the right time.
[Technology & Marketing Law Blog]
