JONES DAY PRESENTS®: Section 230: A Springboard to a First Amendment Discussion
New Developments in the World of Section 230
Trump vs. Twitter: The Feud Over Section 230 and Online Censorship
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
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff announced a Request for Information (RFI) on February 20 seeking public comments on “how consumers may have been harmed by technology platforms that limited their ability to share ideas or...more
As the world’s premier blog and go-to source for insightful, pithy commentary on the law and business of social media (EDITOR’S NOTE: this claim has not been verified), the team at Socially Aware feels socially responsible to...more
In a rare example of bipartisan agreement, the dramatically named DEFIANCE (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits) Act unanimously passed the Senate. The bill allows victims of AI-generated deepfake...more
Last month, the Ninth Circuit reeled back protections for digital media platforms on which scam ads are found. Calise v. Meta Platforms, Inc., 103 F.4th 732 (9th Cir. 2024) Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act...more
Back in February 2023, the FTC announced a federal complaint against a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) provider that it alleged had delivered tens of millions of debt service calls to consumers nationwide. The FTC also...more
In a case that could have broad implications for telecommunications platforms, telemarketing, and privacy law, Stratics Networks Inc. (Stratics), an interactive communications software corporation offering ringless voicemail...more
The latest public Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting focused on two issues – the recent announcement of revisions to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR or Rule) and a discussion of an agency report on supply chain issues...more
Despite the business community’s interest in an all-encompassing federal data privacy law, such a development remains elusive. US legislators have periodically introduced bills that would establish a federal data privacy law,...more
The Supreme Court’s OT 2022 docket is shaping up to be another significant term. Although the Court will continue to take up more petitions in the coming months, its current docket is already poised to have significant...more
North Carolina AG Josh Stein, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of the...more
The CFPB, FTC, and the North Carolina Department of Justice filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit urging it to reverse a district court decision that found Section 230 of the...more
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) was a landmark law enacted to regulate content on the internet. The purpose of the legislation was to regulate indecent and obscene material online, but it is most relevant today...more
Google Bests Consumer Class Action with Section 230 Defense - But district court leaves door open for an amended complaint - Four Americans = 12 Opinions - The tsouris invoked by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act...more
Loeffler, Cotton Release Bill to Hold Tech Companies Accountable for Child Exploitation, Allow Victims to Sue - "It would amend the US code to strip Section 230 protections from tech companies." Why this is important:...more
This week: FCC requests comment on social media order as White House withdraws O’Rielly nomination; U.S. Justice Department asks court to block California net neutrality law; FTC Commissioners testify before Senate Commerce...more
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order on preventing online censorship. While the order is explicitly aimed at curbing “selective censorship” of content by “large, powerful social media companies,” the effects...more
UPDATE: On the afternoon of May 28, 2020, the President signed the executive order concerning CDA Section 230. A copy/link to the order has not yet been posted on the White House’s website. According to news reports,...more
Last year we explained how companies could protect their social media currency and heed the FTC’s warning on native advertising. We examined court opinions establishing the criteria for enforceable website terms of use and...more
The beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions and predictions. We won’t bother Socially Aware readers with our resolutions for 2017, but we thought that we would share some predictions for the new year from our...more
Hospitality industry stakeholders who host sites for online reviews or rely on review sites such as Yelp, Trip Advisor, Urban Spoon, or Oyster, may take comfort in the recent Ninth Circuit decision regarding the liability of...more
The Second Circuit became the third federal appellate court ever to deny immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, which provides broad protection for content supplied to websites by their users....more