WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear two cases this term on content moderation in regards to awful online content: Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh.
Both of these cases were incredibly tragic, especially for the families of the victims. This is exactly why American companies should have the right to engage in content moderation online as they deem appropriate without the threat of trial attorneys bearing down on them.
“These cases show the importance of content moderation. Without moderation, the internet will become a content cesspool, filled with vile content of all sorts, and making it easier for things like terrorist recruitment,” said NetChoice Counsel Chris Marchese. “In fact, Florida and Texas’s social media laws tie websites’ hands from removing awful but lawful content like terrorist recruitment, which is among the reasons we’re suing both states.”
Without the ability to moderate their websites as necessary, social media companies will either be forced to leave up all content, or they will just stop any content deemed to be controversial from being posted to avoid legal action against them.
These cases are real-world examples of the need for American websites to be allowed to engage in content moderation as they see fit for their private companies.