X sued the California attorney general, challenging Assembly Bill 587 (AB 587) – a law that required large social media companies to submit semiannual reports detailing their terms of service and content moderation policies, as well as their practices for handling specific types of content such as hate speech and misinformation. X claimed that this ..read more

The United States government sued eBay for alleged violations of environmental regulations, claiming the online marketplace facilitated the sale of prohibited products in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). According to the government’s complaint, eBay allowed third-party sellers to ..read more

A German-based lubricant manufacturer sued a U.S.-based distributor, alleging that the distributor produced and sold counterfeit versions of its products with branding that closely resembled plaintiff’s trademarks. Plaintiff brought claims for trademark infringement, cybersquatting, unfair competition, and other related violations, moving for a preliminary injunction against defendant, which the court granted. The parties initiated a ..read more

Eleventh Circuit concurrence could be a watershed moment for discourse on the judiciary’s future use of AI. In a very thought-provoking recent ruling, Judge Kevin Newsom of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals discussed the potential use of AI-powered large language models (LLMs) in legal text interpretation. Known for his commitment to textualism and plain-language interpretation, Judge Newsom’s career – prior to President Trump appointing him to the bench in 2017 – includes serving as the Solicitor General of Alabama and clerking for Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court. His concurre ..read more

As anticipated, TikTok and ByteDance have initiated legal action against the U.S. government, challenging a recently enacted law that would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells the company off in the next nine months to an entity not controlled by a foreign adversary. Petitioners argue that the law infringes on constitutional rights in several ways: the First Amendment, the prohibition against bills of attainder, and the Equal Protection Clauses and Takings Clauses of the Fifth Amendment. They are seeking a declaration from the court that the law is unconstitutional and an injunction to prevent ..read more

As anticipated, TikTok and ByteDance have initiated legal action against the U.S. government, challenging a recently enacted law that would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells the company off in the next nine months to an entity not controlled by a foreign adversary. Petitioners argue that the law infringes on constitutional rights in several ways: the First Amendment, the prohibition against bills of attainder, and the Equal Protection Clauses and Takings Clauses of the Fifth Amendment. They are seeking a declaration from the court that the law is unconstitutional and an injunction to prevent ..read more

As expected, TikTok has sued the federal government over the law enacted last month that requires ByteDance to sell off the app or be banned. It seeks a declaratory judgment that the law is unconstitutional and asks for an injunction barring the law’s enforcement. Here’s a first look at the constitutional issues TikTok is raising: First Amendment: TikTok contends the Act restricts its right to free speech more severely than other media entities without sufficient justification, failing to consider less restrictive alternatives. The ban also violates the free speech rights of the app’s 170 mi ..read more

Software vendor sued its customer because the customer stopped paying the vendor during implementation. Customer filed a counterclaim asserting that the contract between the parties was unconscionable because, if enforced, it would provide a “gross disparity in the values exchanged.” In other words, customer would be required to pay, but vendor would not have to provide the software. The court rejected customer’s argument and dismissed the claim of unconscionability. It observed that “[i]n essence, [customer’s] argument is that the Agreement is unconscionable because [vendor] did not perform ..read more

TikTok is on the verge of a potential federal ban in the United States. This development echoes a previous situation in Montana, where a 2023 state law attempted to ban TikTok but faced legal challenges. TikTok and its users filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming the ban violated their First Amendment rights. The federal court sided with TikTok and the users, blocking the Montana law from being enforced on the grounds that it infringed on free speech. The court’s decision highlighted that the law restricted TikTok users’ ability to communicate and impacted the company’s content decisions ..read more

It’s now the law of the land that come nine months from now, if any of the app stores make TikTok available or if any hosting provider lends services enabling TikTok, those companies will face substantial penalties.That is, unless TikTok’s owner ByteDance sells off the company to an entity that is not located in or controlled by anyone from Russia, Iran, North Korea or China.The version of the law that the President signed on April 24, 2024 is pretty much the same as the one the House of Representatives passed in March 2024. The only difference is that if in nine months there is a transactio ..read more