WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could radically alter the way Americans use the internet, Gonzalez v. Google.
In Gonzalez, the Court will determine who bears legal responsibility for what individuals post online. Specifically, it will consider whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects online services from liability when they use algorithmic recommendation systems.
“The ability to moderate and curate content without the threat of significant financial liability keeps the internet safe and usable and fosters free speech online,” said NetChoice Counsel Chris Marchese. “Section 230 promotes an open and safe internet, which is why any tampering with the law will inevitably harm the internet and its users.”
“Imposing liability on websites for organizing and recommending content will chill constitutionally protected speech, squash the diversity of voices online and punish what this heartbreaking case proves the internet needs: content moderation.”
Emphasizing these points, 47 organizations from all over the political spectrum, including NetChoice, filed amicus briefs in support of Google.
Section 230’s authors, Sen. Ron Wyden and former Rep. Chris Cox, also filed a brief explaining their intentions with the law when they originally passed it. NetChoice recently published videos of Rep. Cox explaining Section 230 and why content moderation is important for American freedoms.
You can read NetChoice’s brief in the case here.
Please contact Robert Winterton at press@netchoice.org with questions.