Social Links: SCOTUS Strikes Down Law Banning Sex Offenders From Social Media, Denies Cert In 'Dancing Baby' Case; Germany May Require ID Of Status Updates Posted By 'Bots'

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a North Carolina law that the state has used to prosecute more than 1,000 sex offenders for posting on social media is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in what has become known as the "dancing baby" case—a lawsuit brought by a woman who sued Universal Music Group for directing YouTube to take down a video of her toddler-age son dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." The high court's decision leaves in place the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that copyright owners must consider the possibility of fair use before sending a DMCA takedown notice.

Queen Elizabeth II proposed to Parliament a law that would require social networking sites to honor Internet users' requests to remove anything the users shared before turning 18. The European Union already requires search engines to abide by users' requests to remove information as part of the "right to be forgotten," but the information must fulfill several criteria to qualify for removal.

In an effort to minimize the extent to which social bots can manipulate public opinion, Germany plans to update its communication laws to require the operators of social media platforms to identify when posts were generated by social bots and not actual people. And, yes, the name in German for this...