Federal Court Dismissal of Suit by Alleged Malware Vendor Suggests Broad Immunity for Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Providers
Posted by Ronnie London and Sarah Duran
The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington(state) has issued a decision in Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc. dismissing Zango’s claim relating to Kaspersky’s distribution of computer anti-virus/anti-malware software that, among other things, targeted Zango’s products as objectionable.* Taking a fairly broad view of “safe harbor” immunity built into the Communications Decency Act (CDA) – specifically, in Section 230(c)(2) of the U.S. Code title dedicated to Communications Law – the court rejected Zango’s claims that Kaspersky’s anti-virus software improperly identified Zango’s websites and ads as malware and thus constituted tortious interference with contract and business expectancy, and trade libel, and a violation of Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act. The case is significant because it suggests anti-malware vendors and distributors are entitled to absolute immunity to communicate with their customers about potential malware risks and facilitate their customers’ decisions about other companies’ software, without incurring liability to those companies.
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