INTERNET LAW: CASES & PROBLEMS James Grimmelmann Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School Twelfth Edition © 2022 James Grimmelmann ISBN 978-1-943689-15-6 ! www.semaphorepress.com Copyright and Your Rights The author retains the copyright in this book. By downloading a copy of this book from the Semaphore Press website, you have made an authorized copy of the book from the website for your personal use. If you lose it, or your computer crashes or is stolen, don’t worry. Come back to the Semaphore Press website and download a replacement copy, and don’t worry about having to pay again. Just to be clear, Semaphore Press and the author of this casebook are not granting you permission to reproduce the material and books available on our website except to the extent needed for your personal use. We are not granting you permission to distribute copies either. We ask that you not resell or give away your copy. 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If your copy of Reader does not appear to permit these commenting features, please check to make sure you have the most recent version; any version numbered “8” or higher should permit you to annotate a Semaphore Press book. For my parents. INTERNET LAW: CASES AND PROBLEMS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND .............................................................................................17 A. Computer Technology ...............................................................................................17 Technical Primer: Computers ............................................................................17 Technical Primer: The Internet .........................................................................27 Columbia Pictures Indus. v. Fung ......................................................................37 Technical Primer: Cryptography .......................................................................40 Internet Applications Problem ..........................................................................45 B. Theory .........................................................................................................................46 Lawrence Lessig, Code 2.0 .................................................................................46 Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet .................................................50 CHAPTER 2: JURISDICTION .............................................................................................57 A. Cyberspace ..................................................................................................................57 Note on “Cyberspace” ..........................................................................................57 John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace .......58 Orin S. Kerr, The Problem of Perspective in Internet Law ............................60 David R. Johnson and David Post, Law and Borders .....................................62 Mary Anne Franks, Unwilling Avatars .............................................................65 State v. Decker ......................................................................................................68 Slot Machine Problem .........................................................................................70 Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC ...........................................................................71 Dead Aim Problem ..............................................................................................73 B. Jurisdictional Conflicts .............................................................................................74 Dow Jones & Co. v. Gutnick ...............................................................................74 Jack Goldsmith and Timothy Wu, Digital Borders .........................................78 Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc. [Equustek I] .....................................82 Google LLC v. Equustek Solutions Inc. [Equustek II] ...................................87 Equustek Solutions Inc v. Jack [Equustek III] ...............................................89 SeaHaven Problem ..............................................................................................91 Gambling Treaty Problem ..................................................................................92 Diplomatic Mission Problem .............................................................................93 C. American Law ............................................................................................................94 1. Civil Jurisdiction ...................................................................................................94 Burdick v. Superior Court ...................................................................................96 Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A. .......................................101 Ayyadurai v. Floor64, Inc. ................................................................................104 Flying Pig Problem ............................................................................................108 2. Criminal Jurisdiction .........................................................................................108 United States v. Auernheimer ..........................................................................110 3. The Commerce Clause .......................................................................................113 United States v. Yücel ........................................................................................114 Note on Preemption and the Dormant Commerce Clause ..........................115 In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation ..........................116 South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. ...........................................................................118 4 Internet Law CHAPTER 3: SPEECH ......................................................................................................123 A. First Amendment Basics ........................................................................................123 United States Constitution, Amendment I ....................................................123 Note on First Amendment Tiers of Scrutiny .................................................123 Packingham v. North Carolina ........................................................................124 Note on the Press ...............................................................................................128 B. What is Speech? .......................................................................................................131 Texas v. Johnson ................................................................................................131 Bland v. Roberts [I] ..........................................................................................131 Bland v. Roberts [II] ........................................................................................133 Bernstein v. U.S. Dept. of Justice .....................................................................134 C. Harmful Speech .......................................................................................................140 danah boyd, It’s Complicated ...........................................................................141 Blu-Ray Problem ...............................................................................................143 1. Violent Speech ....................................................................................................144 United States v. Hobgood .................................................................................146 2. Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct ..............................................................148 Commonwealth v. Carter ..................................................................................149 3. False Speech ........................................................................................................151 Restatement (Second) of Torts [Defamation] ..............................................152 Note on Defamation ..........................................................................................153 4. Harassment .........................................................................................................154 Restatement (Second) of Torts [Emotional Distress] ..................................154 Snyder v. Phelps .................................................................................................155 Lebo v. State .......................................................................................................157 5. Sexually Explicit Speech ....................................................................................159 6. Harm to Minors ..................................................................................................161 State v. Bishop ....................................................................................................163 Note on School Discipline ................................................................................166 Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union .........................................................167 7. Intellectual Property ..........................................................................................170 D. Section 230 ..............................................................................................................171 Restatement (Second) of Torts [Defamation] ..............................................171 Communications Decency Act § 230 .............................................................172 Zeran v. America Online, Inc. ..........................................................................173 Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings LLC .................................179 Doe v. MySpace, Inc. .........................................................................................190 Note on FOSTA .................................................................................................193 People’s Front of Judea Problem .....................................................................194 CHAPTER 4: PRIVACY ....................................................................................................195 A. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments ......................................................................195 Fourth and Fifth Amendment Overview ........................................................195 1. Device Searches ..................................................................................................199 Riley v. California ..............................................................................................199 United States v. Spencer ...................................................................................208 Coffeeshop Problem ..........................................................................................211 2. Remote Searches ................................................................................................211 United States v. Warshak ..................................................................................211 Carpenter v. United States ...............................................................................216 Table of Contents 5 Bank Robbery Problem ....................................................................................224 B. Wiretapping .............................................................................................................225 Wiretap Act ........................................................................................................225 O’Brien v. O’Brien ..............................................................................................229 Stored Communications Act ............................................................................231 Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp. ....................................235 Pen Registers and Trap and Trace Devices ....................................................239 Note on Technical Assistance ..........................................................................241 Zipper Problem ..................................................................................................243 C. Anonymity ................................................................................................................243 Stored Communications Act ............................................................................244 Jukt Micronics Problem ...................................................................................245 Doe I v. Individuals, Whose True Names are Unknown ..............................245 Arista Records, LLC, v. Does 1–19 .................................................................251 In re Bittorrent Adult Film Copyright Infringement Cases .........................253 D. Personal Privacy ......................................................................................................260 Restatement (Second) of Torts [Privacy Torts] .............................................260 Pennsylvania Right of Publicity .......................................................................261 People v. Golb [Golb I] .....................................................................................262 Golb v. Attorney General of the State of New York [Golb II] .....................264 State v. Austin ....................................................................................................266 E. Consumer Privacy ....................................................................................................275 Note on Cookies .................................................................................................275 Eichenberger v. ESPN, Inc. ..............................................................................277 TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez ............................................................................281 In re Google, Inc. Privacy Policy Litig. ...........................................................289 Chris Yiu (@CLRY2), Tweetstorm on Ad Tracking ......................................294 In re Snapchat, Inc. ...........................................................................................296 California Consumer Privacy Act ....................................................................303 Cookie Monster Problem ..................................................................................311 F. An International Perspective ..................................................................................311 General Data Protection Regulation ..............................................................311 Google Spain SP v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos ...................320 CHAPTER 5: ACCESS TO COMPUTERS ...........................................................................325 A. Contracts ..................................................................................................................325 CX Digital Media, Inc. v. Smoking Everywhere, Inc. ....................................325 Meyer v. Uber Technologies, Inc. ....................................................................332 Cullinane v. Uber Technologies, Inc. ...............................................................337 Smurfberry Problem .........................................................................................340 SeaSells Problem ...............................................................................................340 B. Trespass to Chattels .................................................................................................340 Restatement (Second) of Torts [Trespass] ...................................................341 Intel v. Hamidi ...................................................................................................341 Note on Spam ....................................................................................................348 Wireless Router Problem .................................................................................350 C. Computer Misuse Statutes .....................................................................................350 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ......................................................................351 Orin S. Kerr, Cybercrime’s Scope ....................................................................353 United States v. Morris .....................................................................................354 6 Internet Law Van Buren v. United States ...............................................................................356 hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp. .....................................................................361 LineJump Problem ...........................................................................................365 CHAPTER 6: TRADEMARK .............................................................................................367 A. Trademark Basics ....................................................................................................367 Multi Time Machine, Inc. v. Amazon. com, Inc. ...........................................368 Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay, Inc. ...........................................................................377 Happy Fun Ball Problem ..................................................................................383 B. Domain Names ........................................................................................................384 Title 15, United States Code ............................................................................384 Taubman Co. v. Webfeats .................................................................................386 Drunk Kids Problem .........................................................................................391 Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy .....................................392 Flexegrity Problem ............................................................................................394 Curt Mfg., Inc. v. Sabin .....................................................................................395 CHAPTER 7: COPYRIGHT ...............................................................................................401 Copyright Overview ..........................................................................................401 A. Copyrightability .......................................................................................................403 PhantomALERT, Inc. v. Google Inc. [I] ........................................................403 PhantomALERT, Inc. v. Google Inc. [II] .......................................................409 Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc. .................................................................411 Rearden LLC. v. Walt Disney Co. ....................................................................417 James Grimmelmann, No Such Thing as a Computer-Authored Work ....419 B. The Exclusive Rights ...............................................................................................421 Copyright Act [Exclusive Rights and First Sale] ..........................................421 Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi, Inc. ..............................................................422 Note on RAM Copies ........................................................................................428 Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. ..............................................................429 McGucken v. Newsweek LLC ...........................................................................430 American Broadcasting Co. v. Aereo, Inc. ......................................................432 Music Locker Problem ......................................................................................435 C. Licenses .....................................................................................................................436 McGucken v. Newsweek LLC ...........................................................................436 Field v. Google Inc. ............................................................................................439 Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. ....................................................................................443 MIT License .......................................................................................................448 GNU General Public License (GPL) ...............................................................449 Jacobsen v. Katzer .............................................................................................452 ZapChat Problem ..............................................................................................457 D. Fair Use ....................................................................................................................458 Copyright Act [Fair Use] ..................................................................................458 Katz v. Google Inc. .............................................................................................459 Note on Sony v. Universal [Fair Use] .............................................................463 Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. ..............................................................465 Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. ................................................................469 Bubonic Plagiarism Problem ...........................................................................476 E. Secondary Liability ..................................................................................................476 Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc. ....................................................................477 Table of Contents 7 Note on Sony v. Universal [Contributory Infringement] .............................481 A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. ...............................................................482 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. ..................................486 Cachet Problem .................................................................................................490 F. Section 512 ...............................................................................................................491 Copyright Act [Section 512] ...........................................................................492 Friday Problem ..................................................................................................496 Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. .........................................................................497 BMG Rights Management (US) LLC v. Cox Communications, Inc. ..........502 Section 512 Compliance Questions ................................................................507 Materials on Content ID ..................................................................................508 Mangle Problem ................................................................................................515 G. Digital Rights Management ..................................................................................516 Note on Digital Rights Management ..............................................................516 Note on the Motivation for Anti-Circumvention Law ..................................517 Copyright Act [Anti-Circumvention] .............................................................518 Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley [Corley II] ..........................................519 Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes [Corley I] ....................................522 Section 1201 Problems ....................................................................................527 Note on DMCA Exemptions ............................................................................528 CHAPTER 8: PATENT ......................................................................................................531 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l ...........................................................................531 Soverain Software LLC v. Newegg Inc. ...........................................................537 Function Media, L.L.C. v. Google ....................................................................541 Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc. ....................................................................545 CHAPTER 9: PLATFORMS ...............................................................................................547 A. Points of Control ......................................................................................................547 Center for Democracy and Technology v. Pappert ........................................548 United States v. Keith .......................................................................................554 ICANN and the Domain-Name System .........................................................555 Arista Records, LLC v. Tkach ..........................................................................558 B. Content Moderation ................................................................................................563 Kate Klonick, The New Governors .................................................................564 Facebook Community Standards ....................................................................569 In re Trump ........................................................................................................577 Reddit Content Policy .......................................................................................589 r/SwingDancing Rules ......................................................................................594 Parler Content Policies .....................................................................................594 Ravelry Community Guidelines ......................................................................597 CurrenC Problem ..............................................................................................598 C. Platforms’ Rights .....................................................................................................599 Kimsey v. City of Sammamish .........................................................................599 Cyber Promotions, Inc. v. American Online, Inc. ..........................................604 Zhang v. Baidu.com Inc ....................................................................................608 Marshall’s Locksmith Service Inc. v. Google, LLC ........................................615 Song Fi, Inc. v. Google, Inc. [I] .......................................................................618 Song Fi, Inc. v. Google, Inc. [II] ......................................................................622 Section 230 Reform Problem ..........................................................................623 8 Internet Law D. Marketplaces ...........................................................................................................624 Erie Insurance Co. v. Amazon.com, Inc. .........................................................624 Bolger v. Amazon.com, LLC .............................................................................626 In re Uber Technologies Inc. ............................................................................630 La Park La Brea A LLC v. Airbnb, Inc. ...........................................................635 5thWheel Problem ............................................................................................641 E. Antitrust ...................................................................................................................642 Note on Antitrust Law and Economics ..........................................................642 United States v. Microsoft Corp. ......................................................................645 LiveUniverse, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc. .................................................................652 Google Maps Problem ......................................................................................659 F. Network Neutrality ..................................................................................................659 Verizon v. FCC ....................................................................................................660 Broadband Internet Regulation: A Brief History .........................................663 Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet ...............................................671 Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Ajit Pai ...........................................677 The story continues ...........................................................................................681 DoubleNet Problem ..........................................................................................682 CHAPTER 10: BEYOND THE INTERNET ........................................................................685 A. Virtual Property .......................................................................................................685 Kremen v. Cohen ...............................................................................................685 United States v. Aleynikov ................................................................................691 People v. Aleynikov ............................................................................................694 Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc .........................................................................697 Post.Mortem Problem .......................................................................................710 Davy Jones Problem ..........................................................................................710 B. Blockchains ..............................................................................................................711 Note on Bitcoin ..................................................................................................711 United States v. Ulbricht ..................................................................................714 Kevin Werbach and Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina ......................717 In the Matter of Munchee Inc. .........................................................................720 C. Defective Software ...................................................................................................726 Kennison v. Daire ..............................................................................................727 Pompeii Estates, Inc. v. Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc. ....................728 Rosenberg v. Harwood ......................................................................................730 Houston Fed. of Teachers v. Houston Independent School District ...........733 AI Confidential Problem ..................................................................................739 D. Litigation ..................................................................................................................740 Baidoo v. Blood-Dzraku ....................................................................................740 Griffin v. State ....................................................................................................744 Amicus Curiae Brief of Eugene Volokh ..........................................................749 Herssein v. United Servicees Automobile Association .................................752 Florida Standard Jury Instructions ................................................................755 Note on Mass Adjudication ..............................................................................756 E. The Physical World .................................................................................................757 Adam Thierer and Adam Marcus, Guns, Limbs, and Toys ..........................757 Andy Greenberg, Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway ...............763 Ethan Zuckerman, Beware the Listening Machines ....................................764 FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 ..................................................................766 Table of Contents 9 Coda ....................................................................................................................767 10 Internet Law