Yelp, Defamation And The Mischief Wrought By Section 230

January 25, 2019Media Mention
Law360

Douglas Mirell’s article “Yelp, Defamation And The Mischief Wrought By Section 230” was published in Law360 on January 25, 2019. The article looks at the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny certiorari in Hassell v. Yelp Inc., allowing the highly contentious California Supreme Court’s 4-3 opinion permitting judicially adjudicated false and libelous comments about a lawyer’s performance to remain in cyberspace in perpetuity to stand.

As Mirell notes, the U.S. Supreme Court missed an opportunity to provide any meaningful remedy for internet speech where the author and platform refuse to voluntarily remove posted information that a court has found defamatory.

“The ramifications of this unreviewed holding are nothing short of staggering, and should now prompt congressional reconsideration of the meaning and scope of Section 230,” says Mirell.