Malware Detection Provider Gets Important Victory Allowing It to Flag Unwanted Driver Installer>
Circle ID – Evan D. Brown
Despite a recent Ninth Circuit decision denying immunity to malware detection software for targeting competitor’s software, court holds that Section 230 protected Malwarebytes from liability for designating software driver program as potentially unwanted program. Plaintiff provided software that works in real-time in the background of the operating system to optimize processing and locate and install missing and outdated software drivers. Defendant provided malware detection software designed to scan consumer’s computers and to report potentially unwanted programs. After defendant’s software categorized plaintiff’s software as a potentially unwanted program, plaintiff sued, putting forth a number of business torts, including business disparagement, tortious interference, and common law unfair competition. Defendant moved to dismiss under 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(2)(B), which provides that no provider of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of any action taken to enable or make available others the technical means to restrict access to material that the provider deems to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.
Link: http://www.circleid.com/posts/20200329-malware-detection-gets-important-victory-flag-unwanted-driver/