People wait in line outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Feb. 21, 2023, to hear oral arguments in two cases that test Section 230, the law that provides tech companies a legal shield over what their users post online. (Photo by JIM WATS WASHINGTON - Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.A case coming before the U.S.
Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law — namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platform’s recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.A second case, Twitter v.
Taamneh, also focuses on liability, though on different grounds.The outcomes of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it.
Section 230 won’t be easily dismantled. But if it is, online speech could be drastically transformed.If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel.