Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe Inc. (1991), which established that online services are not liable for third-party content (acting as a distributor, not publisher), and CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. (1997), which permitted lawsuits against companies sending spam, establishing a precedent for "trespass to chattels".CompuServe was involved in several landmark lawsuits in the 1990s that shaped early internet law. Key cases included
Key CompuServe Lawsuits:
Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe Inc. (1991): Plaintiffs sued for libel over statements in a forum. The court ruled in favor of CompuServe, stating that as a distributor (like a library or newsstand) rather than a publisher, CompuServe was not responsible for content it did not have editorial control over.