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Tech keeps liability shield in Supreme Court win |
Twitter and Google were handed wins on Thursday when the Supreme Court punted the issue of if internet companies should keep a controversial liability shield over content posted by third parties. |
© AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File |
The justices were considering two lawsuits in which families of terrorist attack victims said Google and Twitter should be held liable for aiding and abetting ISIS, leading to their relatives' deaths. Google asserted that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, enacted in 1996 to prevent internet companies from being held liable for content posted by third parties, protected the company from all of the claims. But rather than wading into the weighty Section 230 dispute — which internet companies say allows them to serve users and offers protection from a deluge of litigation — the court Thursday found neither company had any underlying liability to need the protections. In the Twitter case, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for a unanimous court that the plaintiffs' allegations fell "far short of plausibly alleging that defendants aided and abetted the Reina attack." That dispute arose after an ISIS-linked attacker killed Nawras Alassaf and 38 other people at an Istanbul nightclub in 2017. Alassaf's family sued Twitter and other tech platforms, accusing them of not taking enough enforcement action against the terrorist group. The Google case presented similar facts. The family of U.S. citizen Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed during a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris, sued Google for its purported recommendations of pro-ISIS videos on YouTube. "Rather, we think it sufficient to acknowledge that much (if not all) of plaintiffs' complaint seems to fail under either our decision in Twitter or the Ninth Circuit's unchallenged holdings below. We therefore decline to address the application of §230 to a complaint that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief," the court wrote in an unsigned opinion in the Google case. The decision is being cheered as a win for protecting speech online by the tech industry but is already facing pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle looking to reform Section 230. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. |
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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: |
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The man accused of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee last month pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder charges, with a judge ordering him held without bail. Nima Momeni, a tech consultant who has been charged in the fatal stabbing of Lee in the streets of San Francisco, was arrested last month and charged with murder. Prosecutors allege that Momeni drove Lee to a secluded spot and killed him, saying the conflict arose from a … |
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| A professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce attempted to fail all his students in an animal science class after he incorrectly concluded they used ChatGPT to complete their assignments, according to multiple reports. Jared Mumm sent an email to his class on Monday as students were finishing up for the semester, claiming he discovered they all used artificial intelligence on their essays, The Washington Post and Rolling … |
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The IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) announced Thursday that it will launch a pilot program in June in which cyber attachés will be sent across four continents to combat cyber crime. The attachés will focus on cracking down tax and financial crimes that use cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, peer-to-peer payments and mixing services. The four attachés will be deployed to Sydney; Singapore; Bogota, Colombia; and Frankfurt, … |
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Uber announced on Wednesday the launch of a new feature that will let teenagers younger than 18 open accounts and take rides on their own. In a news release, the ride-hailing company said that its "teen accounts" will allow people from 13 to 17 years old to set up personal accounts through their families’ profiles. The company said that only experienced and highly rated drivers are eligible to take on rides from teens, … |
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News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: |
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NYC public schools rescind ChatGPT ban |
The city's Department of Education said it will reverse its initial ban of the chatbot as AI becomes a critical part of society, NBC news reported. |
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YouTube made $40 billion in revenue over the past year |
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Branch out with other reads on The Hill: |
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Check your artificial intelligence 'bossware' tools for bias, says U.S. agency head |
The head of the U.S. agency charged with enforcing civil rights in the workplace says artificial intelligence-driven "bossware" tools that closely track the whereabouts, keystrokes and productivity of workers can also run afoul of discrimination laws. Charlotte Burrows, chair of the Equal Employment … |
ChatGPT is now a smartphone app, which could be good news for people who like to use the artificial intelligence chatbot and bad news for all the clone apps that have tried to profit off the technology. The free app became available on iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on Thursday and will later be coming … |
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The Economic Snapshot: CEO Summit, May 31, 2-3:00 p.m. ET |
The post-pandemic economy has defied expectations repeatedly. The U.S. labor market and consumer spending are chugging along, while inflation is cooling, yet risks of a recession and a debt ceiling showdown loom. "The Economic Snapshot" will check the pulse of the U.S. economy. The Hill will gather chief executives to dissect just how companies are faring during this uncertain economic landscape, featuring speakers such as Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines; Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of National Restaurant Association; Matthew Shay, President & CEO, National Retail Federation; Evan Smith, Co-Founder & CEO of Altana AI; and Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay.
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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House conservatives have launched an 11th-hour effort to include tougher border security measures as part of the emerging package to prevent a government … Read more |
| Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced plans to file articles of impeachment against President Biden on Thursday, alleging he has violated his … Read more |
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Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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