From today's opinion by Judge Gregory Woods in Flynn v. CNN (S.D.N.Y.):
What does it say about you if you "follow" someone on Twitter? What does it say about you when you retweet someone else's tweet? These are not just questions for Millennials or Zoomers. They are critical questions in this motion to dismiss.
CNN argues that the Court should conclude as a matter of law that by retweeting another's tweet, the retweeter is adopting every word in the tweet as their own. A retweet, in CNN's view, cannot merely be used to comment on another's tweet or to forward the fact of its existence to another. CNN also argues that the Court should adopt the position that when you "follow" a person's Twitter feed, you become that person's "follower," in the sense that you are now an adherent to the entire belief system of the tweeter. By following someone on Twitter, in CNN's view, you are not merely interested in seeing what the person you are following has to say.
The Court remains unwilling to adopt as a matter of law CNN's sweeping assertions regarding the significance of a retweet, or what it means to "follow" someone on Twitter, and therefore denies CNN's motion for reconsideration in part and denies CNN's motion to certify an interlocutory appeal….
