Some Much-Needed Pushback on the Anti-Section 230 Craziness (Linkwrap)
The criticisms of Section 230 are a sign we’re living in Crazytown. The lies and misdirection about Section 230–coming both from cranks/trolls as well as our government leaders (please, no jokes about how those are the same thing)–are out of…
Correcting the Record on Section 230’s Legislative History (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Jeff Kosseff, author of The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet [Eric’s introduction: yesterday, I blogged the Second Circuit’s decision in Force v. Facebook. In dissent, Judge Katzmann wrote a lengthy examination of Section 230’s legislative history….
Second Circuit Issues Powerful Section 230 Win to Facebook in “Material Support for Terrorists” Case–Force v. Facebook
In a 101 page set of opinions, the Second Circuit ruled emphatically for Facebook in one of the multitudinous lawsuits alleging that it provided material support to terrorists (in this case, Hamas). The majority relied exclusively on Section 230, in…
Wisconsin Court Holds Amazon Can Be Strictly Liable for Marketplace Items–State Farm v. Amazon
This is another case seeking to hold Amazon liable for defective items sold by its marketplace vendors (in this case, a bathtub faucet adapter that led to a household flood). Amazon had a remarkable string of wins in cases like…
Russia Fucked With American Democracy, But It Can’t Fuck With Section 230–Federal Agency of News v. Facebook
The plaintiff FAN allegedly is part of a Russian government agency, Internet Research Agency, that undermined the integrity of our 2016 presidential elections. In other words, FAN apparently was a Russian troll operation. As part of its post-2016 election cleanup,…
Another Blocked Facebook User Loses in Court–Dipp-Paz v. Facebook
This ruling doesn’t break any new ground, so I’m blogging it mostly for completeness. The pro se plaintiff sued Facebook for violating his free speech rights by blocking his account. He alleged: It’s not the first time that I get…
1H 2019 Quick Links, Part 4 (Section 230, Content Moderation)
Section 230 * Historical archive of Section 230 case materials (with Jeff Kosseff) * Some Congressmembers are developing a letter asking the State Department to delete the Section 230-like immunity from the USMCA. Background. * Cunningham v. Montes, 2019 WL…
Large and Diverse Coalition Issues a Statement of Principles to Help Evaluate UGC Liability Reform Proposals
Yesterday, I posted a 2,300 word takedown of Sen. Hawley’s anti-Section 230 bill. That post took me at least 6 hours of drafting time, and 3 weeks of chronological time, to prepare. I separately wrote a deconstruction of the UK…
![Comments on Sen. Hawley's "[Ending] Support for Internet Censorship Act"](https://blog.ericgoldman.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/censorship-meme-150x150.jpg)
Comments on Sen. Hawley’s “[Ending] Support for Internet Censorship Act”
Sen. Josh Hawley’s “[Ending] Support for Internet Censorship Act” (S. 1914) would require large(ish) Internet companies to prove to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that they publish user content in a politically neutral way–or categorically lose Section 230 immunity. In…
Amazon May Be Liable for Marketplace Items–Oberdorf v. Amazon
In what could be a seismic ruling, the Third Circuit held that Amazon is a legally responsible seller of defective marketplace items, exposing it to potentially enormous liability. This represents the worst loss yet for Amazon over marketplace sales. However,…