Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Section 230, Leaving Protections for Third Party Content in Place

The Supreme Court today in Google v. Gonzales and Twitter v. Taamneh declined to rule on the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, leaving in place liability protections from content shared by third parties online.

Director of CEI’s Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin said:

“The Supreme Court took the opportunity to leave the current interpretation of Section 230 unchanged. The Court will likely take on the issue of the law’s scope and protections in upcoming cases, but for now, third-party content remains protected online.”

CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray weighed in on a different issue from the Court’s ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh:

“The court’s acknowledgement that recommendation algorithms are part of a platform’s infrastructure rather than any sort of editorial decision is particularly welcome. Recommendations and personalization are crucial not only to the platforms’ business models but to user experience. A decision otherwise would have resulted in worse experiences for all users.”

More from CEI:

• Melugin: Preserving Section 230 Is Key to Maintaining the Free and Open Internet
• Melugin and Berlau for Real Clear Policy: Why Critics Should Leave Section 230’s Liability Protections Alone