The Supreme Court Actually Understands the Internet

The Supreme Court s perspective on the issue was a mystery until this week, when justices heard oral arguments for two cases involving 230. On Tuesday, the Court was asked to consider whether Google is liable for YouTube-recommendation algorithms showing Islamic State videos to users. Wednesday s case was similar but dealt with Twitter s alleged responsibility for ISIS members using its platform to recruit and fundraise. Whatever the justices decide, it will be a major moment in web history: Affirming 230 would put greater pressure on Congress or regulatory agencies to come up with their own ideas for modernizing the legal guardrails of the internet, and reinterpreting it would force tech companies of all sizes to mutate in order to avoid liability.

The direction and tone of the questioning suggest that the justices lean more toward the former, though the Court s opinions aren t likely to be published for at least a few months. There doesn t seem to be any appetite on the Supreme Court s part to deliberately open the floodgates for lawsuits against tech companies, James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell Law School, told me. This is notable in part because the Court has not said much of anything about platforms before, he observed: We haven t known anything for years. We ve finally found out something about where their thoughts are. It looks, maybe, like they lean toward leaving the internet alone.

via www.msn.com

This might work.