Media & Communications Law

June 6, 1957: Book dealer charged for publishing ‘Howl’

Beat writing became literature with the publication of the poem “Howl”—a stunning, unsettling, raw and rhythmic epic of anguish written by Allen Ginsberg.

Jun 1, 2025 12:05 AM CDT

ChatGPT creator isn’t liable for embezzlement hallucinations that journalist didn’t publish, judge says

A lawsuit filed by a radio host who alleged that a ChatGPT hallucination defamed him has been tossed by a judge who found no negligence or actual malice by OpenAI, the creator of the artificial intelligence platform.

May 29, 2025 9:03 AM CDT

Smartmatic says evidence shows Fox execs didn’t believe election claims

Fox News employees, up and down the corporate ladder, did not believe that the 2020 election was rigged, despite claims that were later broadcast on the network implicating voting technology company Smartmatic in a broader conspiracy to throw the election for Joe Biden, according to newly unsealed documents.

May 16, 2025 11:40 AM CDT

Lawyer with huge social media following is accused of performing ‘no legal work of value’ for several clients

A California lawyer with more than 60,000 Instagram followers is accused in an ethics complaint of taking fees from several clients while producing “no legal work of value” in return.

May 13, 2025 1:03 PM CDT

Skadden improperly limited lawyer access to email distribution lists, group claims in NLRB filing

A workers’ rights group alleges that Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom improperly interfered with protected employee discussions about the law firm's deal with President Donald Trump when it restricted email distribution lists.

Apr 28, 2025 1:19 PM CDT

New Netflix docuseries examines the many issues with ‘kidfluencing’

Released in 2025, Netflix’s Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing follows Piper Rockelle, who started appearing on YouTube at the age of 8 with the help of her “momager,” Tiffany Smith.

Apr 22, 2025 8:54 AM CDT

Judge in AP case says new White House press policy appears fair

A federal judge in D.C. declined on Friday to grant a motion from the Associated Press, which argued that the White House has disobeyed his order last week forcing the administration to stop banning the news organization’s journalists from attending presidential events because of its decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico in its news coverage.

Apr 18, 2025 1:49 PM CDT

Sarah Palin and the NY Times are in court again; here’s why

Sarah Palin has returned to a lower Manhattan courtroom this week, determined to prove that the New York Times defamed her in a 2017 editorial that suggested a link between a map published by her political action committee and the 2011 shooting of former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Apr 18, 2025 10:06 AM CDT

Florida lawyer is building up her law practice and growing her network via social media

While others were baking sourdough bread, stockpiling toilet paper and watching Tiger King during the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida lawyer Claudia Cobreiro spent her time on Instagram. “I felt like I couldn’t spend COVID waiting for it to pass,” Cobreiro says. “I wanted to grow my network.” It ended up transforming her practice and her life. For her, it was all about “the ’gram.”

Mar 3, 2025 9:04 AM CST

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban-or-sale law set to start Sunday

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to block a federal law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States as early as this weekend if the wildly popular video-sharing app does not divest from Chinese ownership.

Jan 17, 2025 9:22 AM CST

Drake sues Universal over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake has filed a defamation and harassment lawsuit against Universal Music Group, alleging that the mega media corporation improperly promoted his rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track to damage his career and gain leverage over future contract negotiations.

Jan 15, 2025 2:30 PM CST

Oregon law barring secret audio recordings does not violate First Amendment, en banc appeals court says

A federal appeals court has tossed a challenge to an Oregon law that generally bans secret audio recordings.

Jan 9, 2025 11:14 AM CST

Supreme Court considers putting TikTok on the chopping block

The clock is ticking for TikTok in the United States. Later this week, however, the social media application and some of its content creators still have time to make their case to the U.S. Supreme Court against a federal statute that threatens to banish TikTok on Jan. 19.

Jan 8, 2025 1:50 PM CST

Online ‘gangsta rap’ discussion wasn’t real reason for McCarter associate’s firing, suit alleges

A former McCarter & English staff associate alleges that the law firm subjected him to a hostile workplace based on his status as a military combat veteran and fired him on the pretext of violating the firm’s social media policy.

Jan 7, 2025 12:30 PM CST

$5M verdict against Trump for defamation and sexual abuse upheld by NY appeals court

A federal appeals court Monday upheld a $5 million New York civil trial jury verdict that found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

Jan 2, 2025 3:00 PM CST