New Developments in the World of Section 230
Trump vs. Twitter: The Feud Over Section 230 and Online Censorship
On 8 January 2026, Iranian authorities implemented a nationwide internet blackout that resulted in connectivity to the global internet declining by approximately 98% within 84 hours. This blackout did not occur in isolation,...more
On March 20, 2026, the Trump Administration released a "National Policy Framework" (Framework) for AI, containing more than two dozen separate bullet-point recommendations for what Congress should, and should not, do....more
Iowa AG Brenna Bird and Texas AG Ken Paxton co-led a group of 16 Republican AGs in sending a letter to Alphabet, Inc. about YouTube’s content moderation practices....more
Divided government and a lack of consensus on how to move forward on comprehensive AI legislation means that Congress is instead pivoting to focus on industry oversight, narrow bills on AI policy, and requests for additional...more
If there’s one thing that became crystal clear in 2025, it’s that the internet, despite being more than thirty years old, still acts like a teenager much of the time. Not a charming one, not a misunderstood prodigy. A...more
On October 30, 2025, Robins Kaplan hosted its annual CLE, “The Trial Advocacy Seminar.” This year, attorney Raoul Shah reflected on his main takeaways....more
Designed for busy in-house counsel, government affairs professionals, policy advocates, and legal practitioners seeking to navigate the ins and outs of congressional oversight, this edition of MoFo’s “Congressional...more
Civil discourse is rapidly declining. The U.S. is mired in escalating, violent political rhetoric, acts of political violence, and dismal polls showing that twenty percent of young adults think violence is justified to...more
On August 21 2025, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC Chairman) sent letters to more than a dozen major U.S. tech companies including cloud computing, data security and social media companies. The template...more
The FTC’s letters highlight the commission’s concern that tech companies may adopt content moderation or data security policies that, while designed to meet foreign legal requirements, could impermissibly infringe upon U.S....more
FTC Chairman Sends Warning Letters to Technology Companies Regarding Data Security and Censorship. On August 21, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent warning letters to thirteen technology companies that provide cloud computing,...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel, government affairs professionals, policy advocates, and legal practitioners seeking to navigate the ins and outs of congressional oversight, this inaugural edition of MoFo’s “Congressional...more
YouTube TV is thriving, and its rivals want a piece of the action. Recently, media ratings giant Nielsen confirmed that YouTube is now not only the most-watched streaming service in the United States, but also the...more
Utilizing regulatory powers under its UDAP law, the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (the “MMPA”), Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced a new rule, codified as 15 C.S.R § 60-19, that would prohibit social...more
On April 28, 2025, the US House of Representatives voted 409-2 to pass S.146, the Take it Down Act. The bill aims to stop the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) created illicit imagery and Deepfake Abuse. The bill will...more
On Thursday, April 10, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mark Meador as a Commissioner of the FTC. Previously, it was expected that Meador’s confirmation would lead to significant changes at the FTC, as his presence on the...more
George Orwell warned us in his dark masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four how effortlessly authoritarian regimes could erase inconvenient truths by tossing records into a “memory hole”—a pneumatic chute leading directly to...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently requested public comment from users of tech platforms. In particular, the impact the platforms may have on user speech. Input is sought -by May 21- on the extent to which tech firms are...more
On February 20, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a public inquiry regarding whether any technology platforms, including social media, communications, and other internet service providers, have violated the...more
On Thursday, February 20, 2025, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced a Request for Information (RFI) for “public submissions from anyone who has been a victim of tech censorship (banning, demonetization, shadow banning,...more
The FTC announced the launch of a public inquiry into how technology platforms engage in censorship. In agency’s Request for Information explains that it seeks information from members of the public about how technology...more
In one of its first actions after establishing new leadership, the United States Federal Trade Commission has issued a request for public comment "to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade (such as by...more
The FTC recently requested public comment “to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade (such as by ‘demonetizing’ and ‘shadow banning’) users’ access to services based on the content of the users’ speech or...more
President Donald Trump’s Executive Order titled, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” is the Administration’s first step to pursue the President’s content moderation goals for social media and broadcast...more
Summary - This order limits the federal government’s ability and the use of taxpayer resources to abridge free speech of American citizens and to take action to correct prior incidents of suppression. It also directs...more