Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

October 23, 2025
Counterclaims Dismissed In Suit By Former Reality Show Member Over Instagram Post

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge dismissed counterclaims in a defamation suit by a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alleging that she was defamed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Inc. (ASA) when it accused her in an Instagram post of calling herself a medical doctor when she is in fact a certified registered nurse anesthetist, finding that the cast member’s Instagram post in response to the ASA was “nonactionable opinion.”
October 22, 2025
Judge Grants Injunction, Remittitur In Meta Fraud Suit Against Spyware Firm

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a permanent injunction to WhatsApp Inc. (now known as WhatsApp LLC) and its parent company Facebook Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms Inc.) to prevent alleged continued violation of California computer fraud laws after a jury found that the defendant, an Israel-based manufacturer of spyware, violated one of those laws.
October 22, 2025
Judge Orders Plaintiffs Suing Canadian ‘Gambling’ Websites To Arbitration

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Oct. 21 granted a motion to compel arbitration filed by a group of Canadian gaming website developers and operators facing claims that they deceived consumers into signing up for “free” gaming websites and addicting them into losing money through illegal gambling, after finding that the arbitration agreement is enforceable under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention).
October 21, 2025
6th Circuit Holds In Abeyance Motions To File Briefs In FCC Data Rule Challenge

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in abeyance motions to file amicus curiae briefs in support of a petition for rehearing of the court’s prior ruling denying internet provider trade associations’ consolidated petitions for review of a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring reporting by telecommunications carriers of data breaches involving personally identifiable information (PII).
October 21, 2025
Judge Lifts Arbitration Stay In Family’s Chatbot Negligence Suit

MARSHALL, Texas — A federal magistrate judge in Texas lifted a stay of one minor plaintiff’s strict liability and negligence claims against Character Technologies Inc. and others over the allegedly harmful effects the company’s chatbots have on minors after the plaintiff reported that the claims were found by an arbitrator to be outside the arbitration provision at issue.
October 20, 2025
Minor Sues Over ClothOff AI That Turns Images Into ‘Hyperrealistic’ Porn

TRENTON, N.J. — A minor and her parents claim in a New Jersey federal lawsuit that defendants offer their ClothOff website as artificial intelligence capable of rendering nearly anyone nude without implementing the safeguards necessary to prevent the creation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or nonconsensual intimate images (NCII).
October 20, 2025
3rd-Party Developer Of Gambling App Using ‘Robux’ Files Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — A developer filed a notice of appeal in California federal court after the court denied his motion to dismiss claims brought against him by the parents of minor users of Roblox Corp.’s gaming platform for illegally causing minors to lose money gambling with the digital currency “Robux” through a website called “BloxFlip” that Roblox says in a cross-complaint infringed its trademark.
October 13, 2025
COMMENTARY: Beyond The Implementation Deadline: Bridging Legal, Technical And Contractual Complexity For Ongoing DORA Compliance

By Fabio Coco
October 17, 2025
Unions Sue USCIS, DHS, ICE, State Department Over AI Social Media Surveillance

NEW YORK — Three labor unions on Oct. 16 sued the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and their leaders in New York federal court, asserting that the defendants have “targeted” U.S.-based visa holders and permanent residents by using artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance of social media to “detect disfavored viewpoints and to take adverse immigration action based on those viewpoints” in violation of the First Amendment rights of “noncitizens lawfully present” in the United States.
October 17, 2025
Delaware Judge Tosses Suit Against Snap, Verizon, Apple Related To Assault Of Child

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware state court judge dismissed with prejudice a suit filed by a woman and her daughter against Snap Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Apple Inc. and the man convicted of sexually assaulting the daughter after communicating with her on Snapchat, asserting that the corporate defendants played “a critical role in facilitating the harm,” finding that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provides immunity for the “third-party communications” between the man and the daughter.
October 16, 2025
Motion To Compel Discovery Partly Granted In Software Data Sharing Class Dispute

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal magistrate judge on Oct. 15 granted in part a motion to compel discovery for production of documents and responses to interrogatories by a health care provider in a putative class suit filed by former and current patients alleging that the provider collected and shared patient medical data with third parties through use of pixel software developed by Meta Platform Inc., finding that the request for production related to social media use is “relevant to” the claims of the patients and the provider’s defenses.
October 16, 2025
Dismissal Denied In Class Suit Against Sirius Alleging ‘Deceptive Pricing Scheme’

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge denied dismissal to Sirius XM Radio LLC in a putative class action alleging that Sirius XM was “deceptive” in falsely advertising its music streaming plans at prices lower than what it actually charged subscribers, finding that the allegations in the complaint are sufficient at this point in the litigation.
October 16, 2025
Labels Tell High Court ISP Knowingly Provided Service To Infringers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Record labels and music publishers tell the U.S. Supreme Court in an Oct. 15 response brief that an internet service provider (ISP) continued to provide internet service to individuals it knew were “‘habitual offenders’” of piracy, thus making the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding of contributory infringement correct.
October 15, 2025
Online Merchant Gets More Time To Oppose Rehearing Of 9th Circuit Remand Ruling

PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted an extension to an online collectibles seller for more time to oppose a petition filed by a consumer seeking rehearing of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that district courts may remand cases to state court for lack of equitable jurisdiction to avoid a “perpetual removal-dismissal loop” only after courts give defendants an opportunity to keep the case in federal court.
October 15, 2025
Plaintiff Must Provide Discovery Showing Audible Subscription Was Unwanted

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Oct. 14 granted a motion by Amazon.com Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Audible Inc. to compel responses by a putative class action plaintiff to interrogatories supporting “her central legal theory” that the defendants violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by enrolling her in an Audible subscription and charging renewal fees without consent.
October 15, 2025
California Governor Vetoes 1 Chatbot Safety Measure As Other AI Bills Become Law

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill imposing some restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence and providing some civil penalties for noncompliance while vetoing a more restrictive chatbot measure that would have required such technology to be unable to encourage self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, the use of illegal substances or disordered eating.
October 14, 2025
Finding ‘Good Cause,’ Judge Grants Amazon Bid To Move Trial Date In Antitrust Suit

SEATTLE — Finding “good cause,” a Washington federal judge granted Amazon.com Inc.’s motion to reset the trial date in a Sherman Act antitrust suit against the company for its alleged monopolization of the market by stopping rivals from lowering prices related to the purchase on Amazon Marketplace of physical goods from third-party sellers.
October 14, 2025
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Review Grindr User’s Claims Of ‘Wrong’ Ruling In CDA Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 14 denied a petition for certiorari filed by an individual alleging that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was “wrong” in affirming a lower court’s ruling dismissing with prejudice as barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) the man’s negligence, product liability and federal sex trafficking suit against the operators of the Grindr app, Grindr Inc. and Grindr LLC, related to injuries the man sustained while using the app.
October 14, 2025
Microsoft Accused Of Harming Competition With OpenAI Partnership

SAN FRANCISCO — A group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers on Oct. 13 filed a putative class action in California federal court against Microsoft Corp., seeking treble damages and injunctive relief — including “the divestiture or segregation of Microsoft’s Generative AI” business — based on allegations that Microsoft limited OpenAI’s access to computational power and drove up ChatGPT prices while promoting its own chatbot in competition with OpenAI.
October 14, 2025
Same Disposition In Firm’s CFAA Suit Against Ex-Workers After 3rd Circuit Rehearing

PHILADELPHIA — After granting a petition for rehearing of a decision affirming that two former employees of a national debt-collection firm did not commit computer fraud, steal trade secrets or violate other state and federal laws through the creation and sharing of a spreadsheet containing passwords and protected login information, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the original opinion and issued an amended opinion but did not ultimately change the disposition of the appeal.
October 13, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms Judgment For Car Maker In ‘Lambo’ Cybersquatting Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found no error in an Arizona federal judge’s grant of summary judgment to Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Lamborghini) in a cybersquatting dispute with a web domain holder, agreeing that the attempt to sell the domain “lambo.com” to the luxury carmaker for $75 million was indicative of bad faith.
October 10, 2025
9th Circuit Tosses Appeal As Lacking Jurisdiction In Anti-SLAPP Online Review Row

SAN FRANCISCO — An en banc Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 9 dismissed for lack of jurisdiction an interlocutory appeal by a digital marketing agency and its owner of a lower court order denying a motion to strike under the California anti-SLAPP statute related to counterclaims for defamation and libel for online reviews in a suit alleging violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to a dispute over parking spaces, finding no jurisdiction because the order denying the motion to strike was not a final appealable order.
October 09, 2025
NYC Sues Meta, TikTok, Google For ‘Negligence’ Over Youth ‘Mental Health Crisis’

NEW YORK — New York City and its school district and hospitals on Oct. 8 sued Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc., TikTok Inc. and Google LLC and related parties in New York federal court, asserting claims for nuisance and negligence related to social media addiction and the “mental health crisis” of New York City youth that the plaintiffs assert was “caused or contributed to by the design and operation of Defendants’ social media platforms.”
October 08, 2025
Judge Tosses Athletics Fansite Copyright Suit Against Sports Fan Page Company

ABERDEEN, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge on Oct. 7 dismissed without prejudice a copyright infringement suit alleging that a company that maintains Facebook fan pages for U.S. professional and college sports violated the intellectual property rights of a Mississippi State University internet fansite, finding that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the suit because the fansite failed to show that the fan page company is “subject to personal jurisdiction” in Mississippi.
October 07, 2025
Order To Quash Subpoena Issued In Suit Seeking Website Operator’s Identity

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted nonparty John Doe’s motion to quash a subpoena issued to website security company Cloudflare Inc., requiring it to produce information about the operators of a website that purportedly defamed a British citizen, finding that the citizen’s court filings and the motion to quash by Doe, a journalist who wrote for the site and wants to keep his identity secret, “make clear that the subpoena should be quashed.”