Carafano v. Metrosplash.com
Encyclopedia
Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2003), is an American legal case dealing with the protection provided an internet service provider
under the Communications Decency Act
(CDA) United States Code
Title 47 section 230(c)(1). It is also known as the Star Trek actress case as the plaintiff, Chase Masterson
– whose legal name is Christianne Carafano – is well-known for having appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
. The case demonstrated that the use of an online form with some multiple choice selections does not override the protections against liability for the actions of users or anonymous members of a Web
-based service.
, an online dating service. In the profile the name Chase was used, along with her photograph and home address (even though home addresses are not allowed under Matchmaker.com policies). The man also used a Yahoo!
email autoresponder
in the profile to provide her physical address and telephone number in response to queries. Masterson requested that Matchmaker remove the profile; they initially refused on the basis that only a profile's creator could request its removal. After pressure from Masterson, Matchmaker ultimately agreed and removed the profile two days later. However, during the time that the profile remained online, Masterson received several sexually harassing voice mail messages and a fax which she found "highly threatening and sexually explicit" and "that also threatened her son." To protect herself, Masterson fled her home, living in hotels and traveling with her son for several months.
state court on the grounds of defamation of character, misappropriation of the right of publicity
, invasion of privacy
and negligence
. The defendants removed the case to federal district court
and brought a motion
for summary judgment
. The district court judge not only rejected the claim for the service provider immunity under the CDA, but Masterson's claims sounding in tort
were also thrown out by the court as the service provider had not acted in any willful manner against Masterson and the court found that no duty of care
existed between the service provider and Masterson. See Carafano v. Metrosplash.com Inc., 207 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (C.D. Cal. 2002).
Masterson appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court rejected the plaintiff's argument and found no liability on the part of Matchmaker. The court found that Matchmaker is not an "information content provider," but rather an "interactive computer service" which allows the public to post information on its Web site. Under the Communications Decency Act
, "interactive computer services" do not incur liability because users create the actual content. Thus liability rests with the underlying contributor, not the interactive computer service.
The applicable section of the CDA was originally designed to apply to obvious "interactive computer services" such as America Online. Since its original passage, however, numerous courts have expanded that definition to include sites such as Matchmaker and eBay
, regardless of whether or not the service provider has the ability to control or edit content before it appears online.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
under the Communications Decency Act
Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
(CDA) United States Code
United States Code
The Code of Laws of the United States of America is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States...
Title 47 section 230(c)(1). It is also known as the Star Trek actress case as the plaintiff, Chase Masterson
Chase Masterson
Chase Masterson, born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is an American actress and singer.-Career:...
– whose legal name is Christianne Carafano – is well-known for having appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
. The case demonstrated that the use of an online form with some multiple choice selections does not override the protections against liability for the actions of users or anonymous members of a Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
-based service.
Facts
A man in Berlin created a bogus matchmaking profile for Masterson on Matchmaker.comMatchmaker.com
Matchmaker.com is an internet dating service. It was founded in 1986, making it the oldest of the current online dating sites. From 2000 to January 2006, it was run by Lycos...
, an online dating service. In the profile the name Chase was used, along with her photograph and home address (even though home addresses are not allowed under Matchmaker.com policies). The man also used a Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
email autoresponder
Autoresponder
An autoresponder is a computer program that automatically answers e-mail sent to it. They can be very simple or quite complex.The first autoresponders were created within mail transfer agents that found they could not deliver an e-mail to a given address. These create bounce messages such as "your...
in the profile to provide her physical address and telephone number in response to queries. Masterson requested that Matchmaker remove the profile; they initially refused on the basis that only a profile's creator could request its removal. After pressure from Masterson, Matchmaker ultimately agreed and removed the profile two days later. However, during the time that the profile remained online, Masterson received several sexually harassing voice mail messages and a fax which she found "highly threatening and sexually explicit" and "that also threatened her son." To protect herself, Masterson fled her home, living in hotels and traveling with her son for several months.
History
Because of their initial refusal to remove the profile after they had been made aware of its existence, Masterson sued Matchmaker in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state court on the grounds of defamation of character, misappropriation of the right of publicity
Personality rights
"Personality rights" is a common or casual reference to the proper term of art "Right of Publicity". The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one's identity...
, invasion of privacy
Personality rights
"Personality rights" is a common or casual reference to the proper term of art "Right of Publicity". The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one's identity...
and negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
. The defendants removed the case to federal district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
and brought a motion
Motion (legal)
In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is...
for summary judgment
Summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment is a determination made by a court without a full trial. Such a judgment may be issued as to the merits of an entire case, or of specific issues in that case....
. The district court judge not only rejected the claim for the service provider immunity under the CDA, but Masterson's claims sounding in tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
were also thrown out by the court as the service provider had not acted in any willful manner against Masterson and the court found that no duty of care
Duty of care
In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant...
existed between the service provider and Masterson. See Carafano v. Metrosplash.com Inc., 207 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (C.D. Cal. 2002).
Masterson appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court rejected the plaintiff's argument and found no liability on the part of Matchmaker. The court found that Matchmaker is not an "information content provider," but rather an "interactive computer service" which allows the public to post information on its Web site. Under the Communications Decency Act
Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
, "interactive computer services" do not incur liability because users create the actual content. Thus liability rests with the underlying contributor, not the interactive computer service.
The applicable section of the CDA was originally designed to apply to obvious "interactive computer services" such as America Online. Since its original passage, however, numerous courts have expanded that definition to include sites such as Matchmaker and eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, regardless of whether or not the service provider has the ability to control or edit content before it appears online.