Supreme Court takes on case testing Big Tech immunity

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Supreme Court has decided to take on a case that challenges Big Tech platforms’ immunity against lawsuits over user content.
• The case, Reynaldo Gonzalez, et. al. v. Google LLC, accused Google of allowing ISIS to use YouTube “to commit terrorism.”
• Critics of the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 have called for more accountability from social media platforms.

Big Tech platforms have been protected by law from being sued over user content, but this immunity could be tested soon following the Supreme Court’s decision to take on a case challenging such provision.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has provided controversial protection for online platforms over lawsuits regarding the moderation of user content.

Supporters of the provision, including industry groups, argue that the protection allows app services and web publishers to moderate user content in ways that benefit society.

The lawsuit against Google LLC, filed by Reynaldo Gonzalez, et. al., accused YouTube of aiding and abetting the 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris that injured hundreds and killed 130 people, including a 23-year-old American named Nohemi Gonzalez. The plaintiffs are Gonzalez’s surviving family members.

The lawsuit accuses Google of providing “material support to ISIS” by allowing the use of YouTube “to commit terrorism.”

Google moved to dismiss the lawsuit, invoking immunity under Section 230.

Congress members from both parties have repeatedly tried to repeal or reform Section 230.

Democrats call for a revision that holds platforms more accountable for the spread of hate speech and misinformation. Republicans, meanwhile, argue that the provision allows social media companies to selectively censor conservative views.

In October 2020, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a filing that the provision should at least be narrowed. He remarked that courts have been interpreting Section 230 as having more comprehensive immunity than was intended, giving online platforms a “sweeping protection.”

According to Axios‘ Ashley Gold, repealing the immunity provided by Section 230 could negatively impact not just Big Tech but also anyone who runs a website that hosts user-posted content.

Source: Axios