Big Tech Breathes Sigh of Relief After Justices' Terror Rulings
Erik Olson spoke to Law360 for the article "Big Tech Breathes Sigh of Relief After Justices' Terror Rulings," covering the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review whether Section 230 insulates online platforms from claims that their algorithms amplified the reach of terrorist groups by promoting their content to susceptible users.
In the article, Erik said there is no circuit split on the question. And that means platform companies can continue to deploy algorithms that serve users targeted recommendations. "It's business as usual," he said.
He said the overall trend of courts interpreting Section 230 has been to read its protections broadly, especially for activity not personally taken by individuals within a company but instead by an automated function like the algorithms at issue here. The Twitter decision bolsters that trend because it suggests the court does not see the algorithmic recommendations as a basis to hold the platforms liable for knowledge of the content itself or intentional distribution of harmful content, he said.
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