Type of online publisher: 
Yahoo! Personals and Yahoo! Premier, dating sites
Publisher's Role in Third Party Content: 
Generated false profiles and emailed current users profiles of people who were no longer subscribers
CDA § 230 applicable?: 
No

A user of Yahoo's online dating services sued the company for fraud and negligent misrepresentation after he discovered the company generated false profiles and sent users now-defunct profiles in order to entice them to re-subscribe. The court said CDA § 230 does not apply to content that an interactive service provider "developed or created entirely by itself." The CDA also did not absolve Yahoo! of liability for sending users now-defunct profiles, because the resulting misrepresentation and fraud claims arose from Yahoo's "manner of presenting the profiles—not the underlying profiles themselves."

Court Opinion Document: 
Jurisdiction: