A Supreme Court case set for oral arguments on Feb. 21 could transform the web as we know it.
The case was brought by the family of a woman killed in a 2015 Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris. The plaintiffs claimed that YouTube — which is owned by Google — knowingly permitted hundreds of radicalizing videos to be posted, and further alleged that YouTube recommended Islamic State videos to users. Google argued that it’s exempted in this case by Section 230 — the powerful 1996 legislation that shields web and social media companies from legal liability for content posted by users.
Google’s position was supported by a federal district court and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court taking the case signals justices’ interest in weighing in on the landmark law, which remains a vital piece of legislation to protect small and medium-sized companies without deep pockets or armies of lawyers to fend off countless lawsuits. It gives companies broad leeway to moderate their sites at their discretion without liability and, most importantly, it enables startups to challenge established companies in the free market.
