Washington – The Supreme Court will hear a case Tuesday that could change what internet users are able to see and do online. The Gonzalez v. Google case is the first legal challenge to Section 230 to go before the high court and it could determine whether companies will need to change their rules on user content due to increased risk of legal liability.
The limited liability protections in Section 230 were Congress’ response to a case in which users tried to warn each other about financial fraud involving the firm portrayed in the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” For more background information, please see Computer & Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers’ blog post on the subject.
CCIA filed an amicus brief in support of websites’ right to moderate online content joined by 5 other tech associations.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“Section 230 is what allows reputable online sites to respond to bad actors. No one wants to see extremist content on digital platforms, and this law Congress enacted is what allows companies to search for and remove dangerous content without the risk that missing a needle in a haystack could lead to bankruptcy.
“If this case alters federal law, companies are likely to respond in one of two ways to protect themselves legally. Companies who could muster the resources would over-moderate everything, while others would throw up their hands and not moderate anything.
“Unfortunately, a bad decision from the Supreme Court could drive companies to one of those two extremes in pursuit of legal certainty.”