Justices echo Big Tech’s concerns of potential for endless lawsuits
From the very onset of debates over Section 230, tech firms and supporters of the liability shield have warned reducing its scope could open internet companies to debilitating waves of lawsuits. Justice parroted many of those arguments on Tuesday, with justice Brett Kavanaugh going as far as to say lawsuits would be “nonstop.”
“You are creating a world of lawsuits,” Kagan said when questioning Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart, “Really anytime you have content, you also have these presentational and prioritization choices that can be subject to suit.”
Advocates pressuring the court to maintain the status quo claim that the impending threat of legal action would force platforms to self-censor and avoid hosting even remotely controversial topics.
“If the plaintiffs in these cases convince the Court to narrow the legal interpretation of Section 230 and increase platforms’ legal exposure for generally knowing harmful material is present on their services, the significant protections that Congress envisioned in enacting this law would be drastically eroded,” Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Relations Director Josh Richman recently wrote. “Many online intermediaries would intensively filter and censor user speech, others may simply not host user content at all, and new online forums may not even get off the ground.”
