Tag: Codifying Chaos

W36Y23 Weekly Review: X Corp. v. California, Maryland v. Instagram/TikTok, and Government Takedown Requests

+++X Corporation Challenges California Law for Transparency in Content Moderation 
+++Maryland School District sues Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and others over Mental Health
+++Appeals Court Limits Government Power to Censor Social Media Content
+++California Lawmakers Wrestle with Social Media Companies over Youth Protection Laws

X Corporation Challenges California Law for Transparency in Content Moderation 

California’s AB 587 law, which demands that social media platforms reveal how they moderate content related to hate speech, racism, extremism, disinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference, is being challenged by X, the company that runs Twitter. X says that the law infringes on its constitutional right to free speech by making it use politically charged terms and express opinions on controversial issues. The lawsuit is part of a larger conflict between California and the tech industry over privacy, consumer protection, and regulation.

Read the full report on techcrunch.
Read the full text of Assembly Bill 587.
Read the case X Corporation v. Robert A. Bonta, Attorney General of California, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 2:23-at-00903.

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Maryland School District sues Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and others over Mental Health

A school district in Anne Arundel County, Maryland is taking legal action against major social media companies, such as Meta, Google, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok. The school district accuses these companies of causing a mental health crisis among young people by using algorithms that keep them hooked on their platforms. The school district says that these platforms expose young users to harmful content and make them spend too much time on screens. The school district demands that these platforms change their algorithms and practices to safeguard children’s well-being. The school district also wants to recover the money that it has spent on addressing student mental health issues.

Read the full report on WBALTV.
Read the case Board of Education of Anne Arundel County v. Meta Platforms Inc. et alia, U.S. District Court, Maryland, No. 1:23-cv-2327.

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Appeals Court Limits Government Power to Censor Social Media Content

A federal appeals court has narrowed a previous court order that limited the Biden administration’s engagement with social media companies regarding contentious content. The original order, issued by a Louisiana judge on July 4th, prevented various government agencies and officials from communicating with platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to encourage the removal of content considered problematic by the government. The appeals court found the initial order too broad and vague, upholding only the part preventing the administration from threatening social media platforms with antitrust action or changes to liability protection for user-generated content. Some agencies were also removed from the order. The Biden administration can seek a Supreme Court review within ten days. 

Read the full report on the associated press.
Read the case Missouri v. Biden, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, No. 3:22-CV-1213.

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California Lawmakers Wrestle with Social Media Companies over Youth Protection Laws

A bill to make social media platforms responsible for harmful content died in a California committee. Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) authored SB 680, which targeted content related to eating disorders, self-harm, and drugs. Tech companies, including Meta, Snap, and TikTok, opposed the bill, saying it violated federal law and the First Amendment. Lawmakers said social media platforms could do more to prevent harm. Another bill, AB 1394, which deals with child sexual abuse material, passed to the Senate floor. It would require platforms to let California users report such material, with fines for non-compliance.

Read the full report on losangelestimes. 
Read the full text of Senate Bill 680.
Read the full text of Assembly Bill 1394.

More Headlines

  • Copyright Law: “Sam Smith Beats Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Dancing With a Stranger’” (by Bloomberg Law)
  • Copyright Law: “Copyright Office Denies Registration to Award-Winning Work Made with Midjourney” (by IP Watchdog)
  • Cryptocurrency: “Who’s Afraid Of (Suing) DeFi Entities?” (by Forbes)
  • Privacy: “Meta Platforms must face medical privacy class action” (by Reuters) 
  • Social Media: “Meta-Backed Diversity Program Accused of Anti-White Hiring Bias” (by Bloomberg) 
  • Personal Injury: “New York man was killed ‘instantly’ by Peloton bike, his family says in lawsuit” (by CNBC)
  • Social Media: “Fired Twitter employee says he’s owed millions in lawsuit” (by SF Examiner)
  • Social Media: “Georgetown County School District joining lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, Big Tech” (by Post and Courier) 
  • Defamation: “Elon Musk to sue ADL for accusing him, X of antisemitism” (by TechCrunch)

In-Depth Reads

  • Surveillance Capitalism: “A Radical Proposal for Protecting Privacy: Halt Industry’s Use of ‘Non-Content’” (via Lawfare)

In Other News (or publications you should read)

This post originated from my publication Codifying Chaos.

W35Y23 Weekly Review: Google Job Search, AI Hallucinations, and Texas Age Verification Law

+++Danish Media Association sues Google over Job Search Results
+++OpenAI sued over Failed Subject Access Request under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 
+++Radio Host sues OpenAI for Defamation over ChatGPT Misinformation 
+++Texas Court orders Injunction of Age Verification Law to Comply with First Amendment


Danish Media Association sues Google over Job Search Results

The Danish Media Association has sued Alphabet (Google) on behalf of Jobindex, a Danish job-search platform, which alleges copyright violations. Jobindex claims that Google copied job ads to its platform without obtaining permission. The lawsuit is significant as it’s the first lawsuit under new EU Copyright rules, specifically EU Copyright Directive Article 17 which took effect in 2021. Jobindex calls for fair competition and equal terms. Google, on the other hand, maintains that its Jobs function in Google Search simplifies job searches and respects the choices of job providers, whether big or small.

Read the full report on reuters.com.

OpenAI sued over Failed Subject Access Request under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 

OpenAI’s compliance with European privacy regulations is challenged in a lawsuit by Polish cybersecurity researcher Lukasz Olejnik. Olejnik alleges that its ChatGPT language model violates various provisions of the EU’s GDPR, including transparency, fairness, data access rights, and privacy by design. Olejnik’s complaint stems from his discovery that a biography generated by ChatGPT about himself contained errors, and when he requested data under GDPR, significant information was missing. This lawsuit follows concerns about ChatGPT’s GDPR compliance, including a temporary ban in Italy and investigations in Germany, France, Spain, and Canada. In the U.S., authors have also sued OpenAI over training data issues. The case is filed by law firm GB Partners, aiming to ensure OpenAI demonstrates compliance with GDPR.

Read the full report on forbes.com.

Radio Host sues OpenAI for Defamation over ChatGPT Misinformation 

American talk radio host Mark Walters filed a defamation lawsuit against OpenAI in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia. A journalist used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to research the proceedings of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) v. Washington State Attorney General Robert Ferguson when ChatGPT completely disregarded the initiated prompts and started to return a fabricated summary that stated Mark Walters used to be the SAF’s Chief Financial Officer and he embezzled funds while holding this position. These errors are often referred to as “hallucinations” and usually occur due to limitations of AI’s training data, model architecture, or the data they have been exposed to during the learning process.      

Read the full report on theverge.com.
Read the case Walters v OpenAI LLC, Superior Court, Gwinnett County, State of Georgia, No. 23-A-04860-2.

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Texas Court orders Injunction of Age Verification Law to Comply with First Amendment

A Texas judge has issued an injunction to delay the enforcement of an online age verification bill, HB 1181. The bill would have required adult websites to verify users’ ages and display a public health warning about the potential consequences of accessing explicit material. The Free Speech Coalition and adult video sites like Pornhub challenged the bill, arguing it violated the First Amendment and Section 230 rights. The judge agreed, stating that while protecting children from explicit material is essential, the law must align with established First Amendment doctrine. Several states have enacted similar laws, but privacy concerns and enforcement challenges have arisen. This decision in Texas differs from precedents set in other states, but similar bills are under consideration elsewhere.

Read the full report on techcrunch. 
Read the full text of House Bill 1181.
Read the full text of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). 
Read the injunction Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Colmenero, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 1:23-cv-00917.

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More Headlines

  • Digital Services Act: “The EU’s Digital Services Act goes into effect today: here’s what that means” (by The Verge)
  • Antitrust Law: “Google escapes Play Store class action after finding more persuasive expert” (by Ars Technica)
  • Copyright Law: “Copyright Law and Generative AI: What a mess” (by ABA Journal)
  • Copyright Law: “The US Copyright Office just took a big step toward new rules for generative AI” (by Business Insider)
  • LegalTech: “The legal issues presented by generative AI” (by MIT Sloan)

In Other News (or publications you should read)

This post originated from my publication Codifying Chaos.

W34Y23 Weekly Review: RNC v Google, Roblox, and US v SpaceX

+++Court Ruled Google Cannot Be Held Liable by RNC over SPAM Filter Policies
+++Roblox Accused of Enabling Child Gambling in Lawsuit Filed by Parents
+++The United States sues Elon Musk’s SpaceX over Hiring Discrimination Practices 

Court Ruled Google Cannot Be Held Liable by RNC over SPAM Filter Policies

The Republican National Committee failed to convince a Court that Google intentionally or negligently redirected Republican fundraising emails to its users’ spam folder costing the party hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential, political donations. A U.S. District Court Judge dismissed the RNC’s legal action as a matter of law; Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields Google from liability and the RNC failed to substantiate “bad faith” on Google’s part. Google stated its spam filter policies apply equally to all senders of emails. The RNC is allowed to amend its initial complaint.    

Read the full report on washingtonpost.com.
Read the full report on arstechnica.com. 
Read the case Republican National Committee v. Google Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 2:22-cv-01904.

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Roblox Accused of Enabling Child Gambling in Lawsuit filed by Parents

The parents of two minors have filed a lawsuit against game creation platform Roblox accusing Roblox of unlawfully enticing and facilitating child gambling. The plaintiffs claim that Roblox allows third-party gambling websites to use their platform to accept online bets using their virtual currency, Robux, on casino-style games. This is said to be in violation of Roblox’s own terms of service that prohibit simulated gambling. The lawsuit asserts that Roblox users, often children and minors, purchase Robux through the platform, and then link their Robux wallet to these external gambling sites, where Robux is converted into gambling credits. Roblox stated its commitment to combating such activities and it is maintaining a safe online experience for its users.

Read the full report on techcrunch.com.
Read the case Colvin v. Roblox Corporation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:23-cv-04146.

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The United States sues Elon Musk’s SpaceX over Hiring Discrimination Practices 

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, for allegedly engaging in discriminatory hiring practices against asylum recipients and refugees. The lawsuit asserts that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX discouraged and refused to consider asylum recipients and refugees for employment based on their citizenship status, which violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. SpaceX incorrectly cited export control laws to claim it could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents in job postings and public statements. The lawsuit also points to CEO Elon Musk’s online statements as examples of discriminatory behavior. The lawsuit seeks back pay, policy changes, and civil penalties to ensure compliance with non-discrimination regulations. SpaceX claims the lawsuit is politically motivated and defends its practices based on international arms trafficking law.

Read the full press release by the Department of Justice.
Read the full report on bloomberg. 
Read the full report on reuters. 
Read the complaint United States of America v. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (8 U.S.C. § 1324b)

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More Headlines

  • Digital Services Act: “Big Tech isn’t ready for landmark EU rules that take effect tomorrow” (by ArsTechnica)
  • Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act: “YouTube Accused of Violating Pact Against Tracking Kids for Ads” (by Bloomberg Law)
  • Copyright Law: “Studios’ Offer to Writers May Lead to AI-Created Scripts That Are Copyrightable” (by The Hollywood Reporter)
  • Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act: “A Controversial Right-to-Repair Car Law Makes a Surprising U-Turn” (by Wired)

In Other News (or publications you should read)

  • Richard Allen’s regulate.tech blog: How to regulate the internet without breaking it
  • Benjamin Wittes, Robert Chesney, Jack Goldsmith’s lawfare: Hard national security choices 
  • Julie Zerbo’s the fashion law (TFL)
  • Justin Hendrix’ tech policy press: technology and democracy.

This post originated from my publication Codifying Chaos.

W33Y23 Weekly Review: Google, NYT v OpenAI, and NetChoice

+++ Class Action Lawsuit against Google over Consumer Browser Privacy Continues
+++ The New York Times is Considering a Lawsuit against OpenAI over AI Training Practices
+++ Technology Lobbying Group sues Arkansas Lawmakers over new Child Protection Law 

Class Action Lawsuit against Google over Consumer Browser Privacy Continues

Google is accused of leveraging its suite of products, analytics, cookies, and apps to collect user data and behavior even when users operate in incognito mode or other private mode settings that suggest user privacy. The lawsuit seeks at least $5,000 of damages per user for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws. On Monday, Google failed to dismiss the legal action, which could run up to $5 billion in damages, when a U.S. District Court Judge ruled Google failed to provide information about its data collection practices. In particular, how it handles users’ browser and search history.        

Read the full report on reuters.com.
Read the case Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664. 

google-motion-to-dismiss-brown-v-google-llc-1Download

The New York Times is Considering a Lawsuit against OpenAI over AI Training Practices

Anonymous sources for NPR imply the New York Times will take legal action against OpenAI for copyright infringement. Allegedly, negotiations between the media conglomerate and the AI research lab to use news reporting content as training data for AI models are stalling. OpenAI’s practice to scrape data from publicly available sources on the internet, including NYT content, could be considered outside the fair use doctrine, allowing content creators to appropriate copyrighted works provided the new content is transformative.   

Read the full report on npr.org.

Technology Lobbying Group sues Arkansas Lawmakers over new Child Protection Law 

Arkansas legislators passed the “Social Media Safety Act”, a new regulation that requires social media companies to perform age verification checks on new users. If a user is under the legal age of 18, the law requires parental consent and social media companies must obtain it. Otherwise, minors in Arkansas are prohibited from becoming account holders on social media platforms. A lobbying group founded in 2001 representing multinational technology companies Amazon, Google, Meta (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, etc), TikTok, and X among others filed suit challenging the new regulation stating “SB396 imposes onerous obligations on social media companies that severely burden both minors’ and adults’ First Amendment rights to speak, listen, and associate without government interference on the widely used online services that it covers.” The SB396 is set to go into effect on Sept. 1.

Read the full report on ap.com.
Read the full text of Senate Bill 396.
Read the case NetChoice v. Attorney General Tim Griffin, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, No. 5:23-cv-05105-TLB D. 

NetChoice-v-Griffin_-Complaint_2023-06-29Download

In Other News (or things you should read)

  • Richard Allen’s regulate.tech blog: How to regulate the internet without breaking it
  • Benjamin Wittes, Robert Chesney, Jack Goldsmith’s lawfare: Hard national security choices 
  • Julie Zerbo’s the fashion law (TFL)
  • Justin Hendrix’ tech policy press: technology and democracy.

This post originated from my publication Codifying Chaos.

W32Y23 Weekly Review: Tetris, Silverman, and California

+++ Book Author Accuses Apple and the Tetris Company of Copyright Infringement over Tetris Movie
+++ Deep Dive into Sarah Silverman’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Meta over Copyright Infringement
+++ California Lawmakers debate new Regulations to Increase Child Saftey on Social Media

Book Author Accuses Apple and the Tetris Company of Copyright Infringement over Tetris Movie

Dan Ackerman, the author of the book “The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World” filed a federal lawsuit against Apple and the Tetris Company among others alleging copyright infringement for turning his book, which was published in 2016, into a biographical thriller that premiered in 2023.  

Read the full report on reuters.com.
Read the case Ackerman v. Pink, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:23-cv-06952. 

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Deep Dive into Sarah Silverman’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Meta over Copyright Infringement

Sarah Silverman, the comedian best known for her stand-up routines, filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta among others alleging copyright infringement for using the content of her book “Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee” to train and improve the large-language models (LLMs) used for ChatGPT and Meta’s LLaMA. Vulture and attorney Matthew Butterick discuss the impact of the lawsuit on secrecy around artificial intelligence algorithms stating the “lawsuits could potentially lift the veil on how these systems work.” They review defendants’ arguments building upon the landmark decision in Authors Guild v. Google Inc, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 15-849, which ruled Google’s practice to copy books and show excerpts to users was permissible as long as the generated copy was bought and paid for. 

Read the full report on vulture.com.
Read the case Silverman v. OpenAI, Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:23-cv-03416 

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California Lawmakers debate new Regulations to Increase Child Saftey on Social Media

California legislators are striving to enhance social media safety for youth by introducing bills like SB680, which seeks to prosecute platforms for promoting harmful content related to self-harm, illegal substances, and more. Another bill, AB1394, requires social media firms to provide reporting options for child sexual abuse content. Additionally, AB2273 aims to create age-appropriate design standards. These efforts reflect concerns about mental health impacts and safety for young users, although opposition from tech groups over potential free speech implications remains.

Read the full report on latimes.com. 
Read the full text of Senate Bill 680.
Read the full text of Assembly Bill 1394.
Read the full text of Assembly Bill 2273. 

In Other News (or things you should read)

  • Richard Allen’s regulate.tech blog: How to regulate the internet without breaking it
  • Benjamin Wittes, Robert Chesney, Jack Goldsmith’s lawfare: Hard national security choices 
  • Julie Zerbo’s the fashion law (TFL)

This post originated from my publication Codifying Chaos.