Legal Threats Database

legal threats database Welcome to the CMLP's Database of Online Legal Threats! The database contains lawsuits, cease & desist letters, subpoenas, and other legal threats directed at those who engage in online speech. You can view, search, and comment on every entry in the database. Interested in lawsuits against bloggers? You'll find them on the Lawsuits Involving Blogs page. How about threats involving forum posts and user comments? You'll find those here. You can use our advanced search page to sort the entries by any criterion of your choosing, as well as perform full-text searching of the underlying documents.

We need your help to keep the database accurate and up to date. If you've been threatened with legal action or know of someone who has, please let us know by using our contact form or by entering the information directly into the database through our easy to use threat entry form. If you have questions, check out our database FAQ.

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New Threat Entries

  • Johns-Byrne Company v. TechnoBuffalo
    Added:
    February 1st, 2012
    On September 1, 2011, Johns-Byrne Company filed a Rule 224 action in Illinois state court. Rule 224 allows a party to conduct limited discovery, before filing a lawsuit, in order to determine the identity of the party that allegedly caused...
  • Hard Drive Productions v. Does
    Added:
    February 1st, 2012
    On September 27, 2011, adult-film company Hard Drive Productions filed a lawsuit in federal court against 1,495 anonymous defendants. The complaint alleged that the defendants were all involved in transferring one of Hard Drive's copyrighted films through the file-sharing protocol...
  • Ron Paul 2012 v. Does 1-10
    Added:
    January 20th, 2012
    On January 13, 2012, Ron Paul's presidential campaign organization sued anonymous YouTube users in federal court over a video posted on YouTube by user "NHLiberty4Paul" on January 4, 2012. The video is critical of then-Republican presidential candidate Jon Hunstman,...
  • Jones v. Dirty World, LLC
    Added:
    January 13th, 2012
    On December 23, 2009, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit in federal court. The plaintiff intended to sue TheDirty.com, alleging that a number of posts on the blog (self-described as a "reality blogger . . . all about gossip...
  • Fraley v. Facebook
    Added:
    January 4th, 2012
    On March 18, 2011, five plaintiffs (including two minors) sued Facebook in California state court. The plaintiffs claimed to represent the class of people injured by Facebook's introduction of a "Sponsored Story" system, through which Facebook turns certain types of user...
  • Shawnee Mission East High School v. Sullivan
    Added:
    December 5th, 2011
    The Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas on Nov. 22, 2011, ordered Emma Sullivan, a student, to write an apology to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback after Sullivan tweeted criticism of Brownback during a school field trip to the Kansas state capitol....
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Most Viewed Threat Entries

  • Snyder v. Phelps
    Total Views:
    66434
    The Westboro Baptist Church is a fundamentalist Christian church that contends that God kills soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan as punishment for America'stolerance of homosexuality and for the presence of gays in the U.S. military. The church operates a number of...
  • Doe v. Fortuny
    Total Views:
    55339
    On February 20, 2008, an anonymous plaintiff sued Jason Fortuny in Illinois federal court for copyright infringement, invasion of privacy through the publication of private facts, and intrusion, after Mr. Fortuny allegedly posted his photograph and personal information on the Internet. Mr....
  • Internet Solutions v. ScamFraudAlert.com (Email)
    Total Views:
    55254
    On May 29, 2008, counsel for Internet Solutions Corporation and Alec Difrawi sent a cease-and-desist letter and email to Archie Garga-Richardson, the founder of ScamFraudAlert.com, a forum site that focuses on alleged Internet scams, security threats, and fraudulent practices. ...
  • Julius Baer Bank and Trust v. Wikileaks
    Total Views:
    33055
    On February 6, 2008, Julius Baer Bank and Trust Company, a Cayman Islands banking entity, filed suit in federal court in California against Wikileaks, which is developing an "uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis." ...
  • Johnson v. Tucker Max
    Total Views:
    31984
    Tucker Max maintains a website detailing his sexual exploits with women. He had a relationship with former Miss Vermont, Katy Johnson, and put the entire story on his website under the title, the "Miss Vermont Story." Johnson sued Max in...
  • ONEOK, Inc. v. Twitter
    Total Views:
    27403
    On September 15, 2009, natural gas distributor Oneok Inc. sued Twitter, Inc. in federal court in Oklahoma for direct and contributory trademark infringement.  Oneok's claims were based on a third party's registration and use of the Twitter handle "Oneok" to send tweets...
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