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Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • January 16, 2026

    Judge Permits Use Of Pseudonyms In ‘Sexual Exploitation’ Suit Against Roblox, Snap

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a motion filed by a guardian on behalf of a minor to proceed under pseudonyms in a suit accusing Roblox Corp. and Snap Inc. of negligence related to alleged misrepresentation of their apps “as safe and appropriate places for children to play” when they were “recklessly and deceptively operating businesses in a way that led to the sexual exploitation” of the minor.

  • January 16, 2026

    Stipulation, $60M Payment Order Filed In FTC, Instacart Delivery Fee Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Trade Commission and Maplebear Inc. d/b/a Instacart filed a proposed stipulated order for a permanent injunction and monetary judgment in California federal court requiring Instacart to pay $60 million to the FTC to resolve allegations that it misrepresented free delivery of items purchased online through the Instacart Marketplace, falsely advertised a satisfaction guarantee and implemented paid memberships without consumers’ “express informed consent.”

  • January 15, 2026

    7th Circuit Affirms Judgment For Energy Company In Software Trade Secret Dispute

    CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s final judgment for an energy program consultant company in a software company’s suit against it over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, finding that the software company failed to identify “concrete” trade secrets.

  • January 15, 2026

    Federal Circuit: No Infringement By Apple Of Device Setting Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a short opinion issued Jan. 14, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s entry of summary judgment of noninfringement to Apple Inc. in a patent infringement suit brought against it by another technology entity, agreeing that Apple’s accused product does not meet claim limitations required under the judge’s unchallenged claim constructions.

  • January 14, 2026

    Parties Agree To Dismissal Of Suit Alleging Uber Breached Duty Of Care To Driver

    SEATTLE — A rideshare company and the estate and survivors of one of its drivers filed a stipulation for order of dismissal with prejudice on Jan. 13, having reached a settlement in December in a lawsuit brought as a result of the driver’s murder during a carjacking attempt perpetrated by two people who had signed up for the company’s services with false personal information and a prepaid phone and gift card minutes before being matched with the driver.

  • January 14, 2026

    Judge Remands Suit Against Insurer For Data Sharing, Denies Attorney Fee Request

    SAN FRANCISCO — Writing that a dental insurer engaged in “dubious” tactics by “removing based on federal jurisdiction then turning around and challenging federal standing,” a California federal judge denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss and instead remanded a putative class action against it for allegedly sharing insureds’ online data without consent, but denied the plaintiff’s request to consider attorney fees.

  • January 13, 2026

    Tesla Answers Complaint In Wrongful Death Suit Over ‘Defective’ Autopilot

    SALT LAKE CITY — Tesla Inc. and Tesla of UT Inc. (collectively, Tesla) filed an answer to a complaint in a product liability and wrongful death suit filed by survivors of people killed in a Tesla Model X, alleging that the vehicle was “unreasonably dangerous and defective” when it was driven by one of the decedents and crashed into a truck due to the failure of the vehicle’s autopilot feature.

  • January 13, 2026

    U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Review Ruling Vacating $5M Award In ‘Cyber’ Contest

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 denied a petition for writ of certiorari by a software developer whose $5 million award in a “Cyber Symposium” contest sponsored by Lindell Management LLC, a company owned by Michael Lindell, was vacated by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which found that the arbitration panel that issued the award “exceeded its authority.”

  • January 12, 2026

    Certiorari Granted In 2 Suits Over Constitutionality Of FCC Forfeitures

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Jan. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether provisions of the Communications Act, by which the Federal Communications Commission assesses and enforces the payment of monetary forfeitures, violate the Seventh Amendment or Article III of the U.S. Constitution, granting certiorari in cases involving former practices of AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. under which they sold customers’ location data to third parties.

  • January 09, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Judgment For Apple In Apple Watch Heart Rate Tracking Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 8 affirmed a district court order granting Apple Inc.’s motion for summary judgment on claims that it violated federal antitrust law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by impairing a competitor’s heart rate tracking app tailored for the Apple Watch to monopolize the market, finding that Apple’s refusal to share algorithm data with third-party app developers was considered a “refusal to deal” and the competitor failed to show an exception to the antitrust principle that there is no duty to deal.

  • January 09, 2026

    Investors, Online Home-Selling Company Reach $39M Settlement In Stock-Drop Suit

    PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona granted final approval to a $39 million settlement in a suit brought by retirement funds alleging that an online home-selling company made false statements about its artificial intelligence-powered pricing algorithm that the retirement funds alleged resulted in the funds’ losses.

  • January 08, 2026

    PTAB’s Invalidation Of Memory Correction Patent Affirmed By Federal Circuit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Substantial evidence supported a finding by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that certain claims in a patent describing a system for error correction in flash memory devices were invalid as obvious, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in a nonprecedential Jan. 7 opinion.

  • January 08, 2026

    Federal Circuit Orders New Trial On Obviousness For Parking Lot Camera Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 7 largely affirmed findings by a California federal judge and a federal jury that a patent-owning technology company failed to show that a defendant entity directly infringed a patent describing camera-assisted parking management technology; however, the panel ordered a new trial on the on-sale bar and a federal unfair competition claim.

  • January 07, 2026

    11th Circuit Affirms Judgment For FTC In Hyperlink Dispute With Fuel Card Company

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 6 mostly affirmed summary judgment for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a dispute over alleged deceptive advertising and unfair practices with a company that offers credit cards for fuel purchases and its CEO, finding that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to the FTC and granting injunctive relief because requiring the company “not to hide disclosures behind a hyperlink prevents” the company from making the link harder to find.

  • January 07, 2026

    Parties Seek Stay After Possible Settlement Of AI Chatbot Suit

    MARSHALL, Texas — Parties to a product liability and negligence suit over the impact of minors’ use of Character Technologies Inc.’s chatbot asked a Texas federal court to stay the case, announcing in a joint Jan. 6 motion a settlement that they say will likely provide a global resolution to similar cases.

  • January 07, 2026

    Citing Fraud On The Court, Federal Judge Tosses ‘Reverse Domain Hijacking’ Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge dismissed with prejudice a suit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Universal City Studios alleging breach of contract and “reverse domain hijacking in violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (‘ACPA’)” related to the defendants’ purported efforts to divest an alleged former UMG intern of a domain name, finding that “[t]here is clear and convincing evidence” that the alleged former intern committed fraud upon the court.

  • January 07, 2026

    Insurer Disputes Coverage For Suit Seeking Damages For Minor’s Video Game Addiction

    JONESBORO, Ark. — An insurer filed suit in an Arkansas federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against an underlying lawsuit seeking damages for video game addiction and/or internet gaming disorder that was allegedly suffered by a minor.

  • January 06, 2026

    Tesla ‘Self-Driving’ Cars Suit Paused For 9th Circuit Interlocutory Appeal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 5 stayed a class action against Tesla Inc. and its affiliates for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting the capabilities of Tesla vehicles’ “self-driving” technology after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted the Tesla parties permission to file an interlocutory appeal of the court’s order granting the driver’s motion for class certification.

  • January 06, 2026

    Trump Issues EO Forcing Tech Company ‘Controlled’ By Chinese Citizen To Divest

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order (EO) requiring HieFo Corp., a company incorporated in Delaware that produces devices for optical communications, “and controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China,” to divest its interests in the acquired assets of EMCORE Corp., maintaining that there is “credible evidence” leading Trump to believe that HieFo “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”

  • January 05, 2026

    Federal Circuit: No Error In Invalidation Of Internet Phone Patent Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel saw no legal or factual errors in the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) affirmation of a patent examiner’s finding that all challenged claims in an internet telephone patent were unpatentable as obvious, seeing no error in how PTAB construed “telephone” or other elements.

  • January 02, 2026

    Judge: FUTSA, Not Copyright Act, Preempts Delivery App Company’s Conversion Claim

    TAMPA, Fla. — In a dispute over trade secrets and source code associated with a food delivery smartphone application, a Florida federal judge held Dec. 31 that while the plaintiff entity’s claim of conversion was not preempted by the Copyright Act, it was displaced by the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA).

  • January 02, 2026

    SCOTUS Ruling Finding Age Verification Porn Law Constitutional Cited By Courts

    According to Shepard’s, as of Dec. 30, 35 rulings issued by federal courts, state courts, courts in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and the Federal Trade Commission have cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s June  decision in Free Speech Coal., Inc. v. Paxton, a case in which the high court ruled that a Texas law requiring certain websites publishing sexually explicit content to verify the age of those visiting the websites to ensure they are adults did not violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

  • December 30, 2025

    Judge Issues Injunction To Stop Enforcement Of Texas App Age Verification Law

    AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge granted a motion for preliminary injunction by an organization representing Texas students seeking to stop the enforcement of certain provisions of a state law that requires age verification and parental consent for minors prior to downloading a mobile app, finding “a likelihood that, when considered on the merits,” the law violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

  • December 23, 2025

    Antitrust Claims Against AWS Dismissed In Dispute With Network Services Provider

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Dec. 22 dismissed in part without prejudice network optimization services provider Subspace omega LLC’s suit alleging antitrust violations against Amazon Web Services Inc. regarding its purported monopolization of the “cloud computing” market related to Subspace’s prior contract with Epic Games Inc., the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, finding in part that Subspace failed to adequately plead claims for “attempted monopolization of the cloud computing market.”

  • December 23, 2025

    Stay Of Injunction Pending Appeal Denied In Meta Fraud Suit Against Spyware Firm

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge denied a motion to stay a permanent injunction pending appeal of the injunction and final judgment of $4,447,190 in favor of WhatsApp Inc. (now known as WhatsApp LLC) and its parent company Facebook Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms Inc.) and against NSO Group Technologies Ltd. and its parent company, finding in part that NSO failed to show that it is likely to succeed on appeal.