No. 13-5946
Jones v. Dirty World Entm’t Recordings, et al.
Page 9
Cir. 2003)). The only claim that Dirty World and Richie raise on appeal is entitlement to
immunity under the CDA. Appellants argued immunity under the CDA several times before the
district court; hence, the claim is properly presented on appeal, cf. Dunlap v. Mich. Dep’t of
Corr., 65 F. App’x 971, 972 (6th Cir. 2003), and reviewed de novo, Smith v. Leis, 407 F. App’x
918, 927 (6th Cir. 2011) (“Claims of entitlement to immunity are questions of law, therefore they
are reviewed de novo.”). Any other claim or defense that they argued before the district court is
waived. See Farm Labor Org. Comm. v. Ohio State Highway Patrol, 308 F.3d 523, 544 n.8 (6th
Cir. 2002) (“It is well established that an issue not raised in a party’s briefs on appeal may be
deemed waived.” (citing Ahlers v. Schebil, 188 F.3d 365, 374 (6th Cir. 1999))).
B.
We begin with a discussion of § 230 of the CDA. Section 230 of the CDA immunizes
providers of interactive computer services
2
against liability arising from content created by third
parties. Section 230(c)(1) provides that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service
shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information
content provider.” Although § 230(c)(1) does not explicitly mention immunity or a synonym
thereof, this and other circuits have recognized the provision to protect internet service providers
for the display of content created by someone else. Seaton v. TripAdvisor LLC, 728 F.3d 592,
599 n.8 (6th Cir. 2013) (recognizing that § 230(c)(1) provides immunity); see also Almeida v.
Amazon.com, Inc., 456 F.3d 1316, 1321 (11th Cir. 2006) (“The majority of federal circuits have
interpreted the CDA to establish broad federal immunity to any cause of action that would make
service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service.”)
(internal citations and quotations omitted); accord Johnson v. Arden, 614 F.3d 785, 791 (8th Cir.
2010); Doe v. MySpace, Inc., 528 F.3d 413, 418 (5th Cir. 2008); Chicago Lawyers’ Comm. for
Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc., 519 F.3d 666, 671 (7th Cir. 2008); Universal
Commc’n Sys., Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 478 F.3d 413, 418−19 (1st Cir. 2007); Batzel v. Smith,
333 F.3d 1018, 1026−30 (9th Cir. 2003); Green v. Am. Online (AOL), 318 F.3d 465, 471 (3d Cir.
2
“The term ‘interactive computer service’ means any information service, system, or access software
provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a
service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or
educational institutions.” 47 U.S.C. § 230(f)(2). These providers include broadband providers, hosting companies,
and website operators like Dirty World and Richie.