How Section 230 helped shape speech on the Internet
Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.
A case the U.S. Supreme Court heard Tuesday, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law — namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.
Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platform's recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.
They seemed unlikely to side with the family, but indicated they are wary of Google's claims that the law gives it and other companies immunity from lawsuits.
A second case being heard Wednesday, Twitter v. Taamneh, also focuses on liability, though on different grounds. That case involves the family members of a man killed in an Istanbul nightclub attack for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
The family accuses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube parent Google of assisting in the growth of IS by recommending extremist content through their algorithms. The platforms argue that they can't be sued because they did not knowingly or substantially assist in the attack.
The outcomes of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it. Section 230 won't be easily dismantled. But if it is, online speech could be drastically transformed.
If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel. But if someone posts that on Facebook, you can't sue the company — just the person who posted it.
That's thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which states that “no provider or user of an interactive computer
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