TikTok’s ‘Blackout Challenge’ and Section 230 Immunity
January 01, 2025
In Anderson v. TikTok, Inc., the Third Circuit held that the liability of an Internet Service Provider such as TikTok depended on whether TikTok was sharing content via the platform’s algorithm or engaged in something more. The question of whether TikTok’s recommendation algorithm transformed content into TikTok’s own expressive activity was not immunized by Section 230 and has disrupted the protection previously enjoyed by Internet platforms like TikTok.
Fresh Filings
January 01, 2025
Notable recent court filings in entertainment law.
Protecting High-Profile Clients from Online Smear Campaigns
January 01, 2025
High-profile individuals facing litigation often face a dual battle: in the courtroom and the court of public opinion. The rapid pace of digital information sharing magnifies reputational threats, including smear campaigns, privacy violations, and cyberattacks, requiring swift and strategic intervention to protect personal and professional standing.
AI Poisoning: A Self Help Cybersecurity Option
December 02, 2024
A novel legal self-help technique to secure artificial intelligence data and programs is known as Poisoning AI. This technique involves modifying the AI algorithm to intentionally produce specific erroneous results.
Secondary Liability for Copyright Infringement At the Supreme Court
December 01, 2024
In February 2024, the Fourth Circuit addressed a jury’s 2020 damages award of $1 billion finding Cox secondarily liable for its subscribers’ copyright infringement through illegal copying of copyrighted songs. Both Cox and Sony filed petitions for certiorari.
Navigating ‘Click to Cancel’ Regulations
December 01, 2024
Automatic renewals have become a preferred method of goods and service delivery for many businesses, particularly in the context of e-commerce. The patchwork of state and federal laws and regulations makes absolute compliance a difficult proposition for many companies. In a purported effort to provide clarity to companies regarding their compliance obligations in this space, the FTC recently finalized its Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs. While the Final Rule has reached the last stage of the FTC’s rulemaking process, questions remain.
Most Companies Don’t Honor Privacy Opt-Outs
December 01, 2024
Global privacy control lets computer users set privacy preferences in their browsers, automatically sharing those choices whenever users go to a site. It’s supposed to give individuals more control over their personal data, allowing them to opt in or out of cookie usage, data sharing, data selling and targeted advertising.But they only work if companies honor them. And in most instances, they don’t.
Fifth Circuit Rejects Majority 'Independent Economic Value' Test for Infringement Damages
November 01, 2024
Most of the federal circuit courts that have addressed what qualifies either as a "compilation" or as a single creative work apply an "independent economic value" analysis that looks at the market worth of the single creation as of the time when an infringement occurs. But in a recent ruling of first impression, the Fifth Circuit rejected the "independent economic value" test in determining which individual sound recordings are eligible for their own statutory awards and which are part of compilation.
