Hands Off My Post: Rethinking Section 230 and Private Online Platform Liability
Justin Sells Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas conflict, private online platforms, namely, social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), have censored their respective users by removing, downgrading, or materially altering users’ posts. Before Murthy v. Missouri, the United States government encouraged and coerced private online platforms to censor users. Arguably, the joint efforts of the U.S. government and private online platforms to censor users have resulted in First Amendment violations, copyright infringement, and breach of contract. Private online platforms, however, are shielded from liability under 47 U.S. Code Section 230. This Article argues that...
The Search to Find a Legal Remedy for Regulating Censorship on Social Media
Kristen Cuetos The rise of Big Tech has led to concern over social media companies’ power in regulating user content. Social media users are claiming, more frequently now than ever, that their posts, ideas, and views are being censored by social media platforms. Contrarily, other users are arguing that platforms aren’t doing enough to moderate and curb harmful or offensive speech online. Many have filed lawsuits against social media companies for infringing on users’ First Amendment freedom of speech. These lawsuits fail because of the legal barriers that protect social media companies from such liability. As a result, controversy has...