BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LAW — Baylor Law is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Ultimate Writer Competition. The first-place winner is Andrew Boone, second-place winner is Maximilian Atchity, and Riley Zoch and Rachel Rickel tied for third place. Honorable mentions were received by Elias Bejany and Katie Thedford. This year’s case file was ripped from the headlines and focused on a legal question of the digital age with which the courts are still grappling. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides a general grant of immunity for the content of information posted on the internet. But there is an exception to that general grant of immunity. The Act does not immunize “intellectual property claims”. The problem for the competitors this year involved a Youth Pastor whose picture appeared in a Dating Site advertisement without his consent. He wants to sue for the unauthorized appropriation of his image, likeness or identity. Texas has consistently recognized this claim. But, is it the kind of “intellectual property claim” that the Communication Decency Act permits. The competitors were asked to write a memo to support the internet company’s publication of the advertisement – arguing that the company was immune under Section 230.