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New Developments in the World of Section 230
PATIENT PRIVACY IN AN ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Are websites legally responsible for content posted by their users?
Stealth Lawyer: Zach Abramowitz, 'Blogcaster'
In Ryan v. X Corp., a Northern District of California court held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunized X (formerly Twitter) against claims arising from suspension of a user’s account, notwithstanding...more
As proliferation of harmful content online has increasingly become easier and more accessible through social media, review websites and other online public forums, businesses and politicians have pushed to reform and limit...more
Social media companies have long moderated the type of content that appears on a person’s home page by, for instance, deleting explicit posts or “downgrading” posts containing misinformation. Based on the belief that these...more
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (the “CDA” or “Section 230”), known prolifically as “the 26 words that created the internet,” remains the subject of ongoing controversy. As extensively reported on this blog, the...more
In the prior two installments of our six-part series examining Section 230, the section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) that immunizes online service providers from liability stemming from the publication and...more
The Internet makes it easier than ever to connect with people around the world, share ideas and information, and have their voices heard regardless of whether they are a single individual with limited resources or a massive...more
Just twelve days after Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam decision in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, in which the Court declined to address the application of §230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47...more
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230(c)(1) (hereafter “§230”), protects internet services, like Facebook, Twitter, and the like, from liability based on words used by third parties who use their...more
Key Points - This September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 587 into law, establishing new transparency requirements for social media companies. The new requirements include publicly posting and submitting to the...more
Since the passage of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act (“CDA”), the majority of federal circuits have interpreted the CDA to establish broad federal immunity to causes of action that would treat service providers...more
The June 10, 2020 and July 22, 2019 posts on Trending Law Blogs discussed, among other things, how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. §230 (c)(1) (hereafter “§230”), has come under attack by politicians...more
Online platforms that allow users to post content face a constant choice: to remove or to not remove, to police or not to police. Shakespearean allusions aside, platforms generally want user engagement — to reach as many...more
Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230 (“Section 230”)) has long been credited for the boom of user generated content on the internet — the crux of social media that has driven the...more
What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so. (Attributed (probably wrongly) to Mark Twain) - A funny thing happened to me on the way to this blog: I learned that what...more
While we are still in the infancy of the Biden Administration, it is clear that bipartisan desire to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230”) remains active. On February 8, 2021, Sen. Mark Warner...more
Happy Silver Anniversary to Section 230 of Communications Decency Act (“CDA” or “Section 230”), which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in February 1996. At that time, Congress enacted CDA Section 230 in response...more
Social media has experienced an unprecedented growth in popularity and usage since its inception. This is owed in large part to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Unlike their print counterparts, internet...more
In the current environment of reckoning for the societal power of Big Tech, one threat seems ever-present on the tongues of those who would cut these companies down to size. Enacting this threat is likely to have the opposite...more
The appetite for acquisitions and investment in online businesses has never been stronger, with many of the most attractive online opportunities being businesses that host, manage and leverage user-generated content. These...more
We wrote recently about proposed changes to laws governing content on the internet. Washington has now proposed even more changes that could affect policing of the internet and social media. In brief, Section 230(c) of the...more
Last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order targeting social media companies and the liability protections afforded to them under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (Section 230). The Order directs the...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
In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Times, published today, former Vice President Joe Biden advocated for repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). As readers of this blog may know,...more
A recent Second Circuit decision makes clear that the safe harbor that social media and other Internet companies enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act broadly applies to a wide variety of claims. ...more
As we have frequently noted on Socially Aware, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects social media sites and other online platforms from liability for user-generated content. Sometimes referred to as “the law...more