Understanding Scope of Practice
CF on Cyber: An Update on the Florida Security of Communications Act (FSCA)
New Developments in the World of Section 230
IP | Trend: Data in the Cloud is the Next Big Storm?
Class Action Suit Against Instagram for New Terms of Service Dismissed
Every time you click on a website, you are entering into a contract – often without even realizing it. While we casually browse, download content or make online purchases, we are simultaneously agreeing to a set of terms and...more
The proliferation of class action lawsuit and arbitration claim filings under the Federal Wiretap Act and various state wiretap statutes has recently grown beyond California, as other states are now beginning to see more...more
Overview - The District Court for the Northern District of California recently provided guidance in Alkutkar v. Bumble Inc., No. 22-CV-00422- PJH (N.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2022), reconsideration denied, No. 22-CV-00422-PJH,...more
2022 provided companies with further clarity and insight regarding legal claims that might be viable to stop data (or web) scraping and those that likely won’t work. Data scraping continues to become an increasingly popular...more
Attention Lead Generators. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that use of certain technologies on a websites in order to track and record web session data before obtaining affirmative consent may be a...more
Since the beginning of 2021, more than two dozen class action cases have been filed in Florida state court under Florida's Security of Communications Act. The act has, in some form, been on the books for more than 50 years....more
It is a good time to review your website and its accompanying terms and conditions and privacy policies. From year to year, the legal landscape evolves with changes being driven by technological advancements, shifting...more
A recent case in the Southern District of New York calls into serious question the ubiquitous practice of embedding photographs on a content creator’s website. An embedded photo is one that is not hosted on the website’s...more
The Ninth Circuit recently concluded that a consumer was not bound by updated terms merely because she accessed a website that contained new terms in a “browse-wrap” agreement on the website. The court also concluded that an...more
Nick Mooney and Joseph Schaeffer, Spilman Technology Law Practice Group Chairs, discuss proposed amendments from the Department of Justice, a recent statement from Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” and a...more
Nesting hyperlinks is neat and organized, but based on recent court rulings, you might not be forming a contract. Recent inconsistent court rulings on the issue highlight the need for re-examining use of hyperlinks in...more
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...more
With the world in various states of lockdown, your organization’s online presence is more important than ever…even more so with official enforcement of CCPA beginning last month. It may be a good time to spend an afternoon...more
The current COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses online in order to survive. In many cases, businesses had no plans to be online. Others were forced to move online more quickly than planned. In order to assist these...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently denied a motion to compel arbitration in a putative class action, and in doing so found that the defendants failed to show that the plaintiff had agreed to arbitrate the dispute when...more
Last month, a California district court granted a web-based service’s motion to compel arbitration of a putative class action brought by a user whose personal information was allegedly accessed in a massive 2016 data breach...more
On March 30, 2018, in Sandvig v. Sessions, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia allowed one of several constitutional challenges to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to survive a motion to dismiss. ...more
What makes an on-line arbitration agreement binding against a website user? In Meyer v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15497 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a...more
Does your company’s website include or link to third-party content? If so, there are potential legal issues that may arise under copyright law and website terms of use that can be minimized or avoided by implementing some...more
A New Jersey federal judge dismissed a proposed class action against online retailer, J. Crew Group, Inc., alleging that the company’s website Terms and Conditions violated New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty,...more
In 2016, many retailers found themselves on the wrong end of class actions brought under New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”). The suits allege that these retailers’ website terms of...more
Worried about a company retaliating against you when you post a negative review on Yelp or TripAdvisor? Worry no longer because Congress has your back. Last week, Congress passed a law that will make it illegal for companies...more
This past summer, we wrote about two instances in which courts refused to enforce website terms presented in browsewrap agreements. As we noted, clickthrough agreements are generally more likely to be found to be enforced. ...more
So, you’re ready to launch your new online business or mobile app. The website looks great, and the app tile has an elegant, simple design that’s sure to stand out on phone and tablet screens. Missing anything? Oh, yeah, that...more
Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, also known as the “Communications Decency Act of 1996” or “CDA” was signed into law in Feburary 1996. The goal of the CDA was to control the exposure of minors to indecent...more