You ever come across the thumbnail of a recommended video and ask yourself why and how something like that could even be on the platform? Well, the internet’s liability ward — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, is in the hotseat. Oral arguments that will determine the fate of the protections started today; the outcome will impact major content hosting sites like YouTube, Twitch, and Google.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing arguments in a major case that could weaken a legal shield that protects internet companies from a wide array of lawsuits in a dispute involving YouTube and the family of an American student fatally shot in a 2015 rampage by Islamist militants in Paris.

The justices were considering an appeal by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old student at California State University, Long Beach who was studying in France, of a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Google LLC-owned YouTube. Google and YouTube are part of Alphabet Inc.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

Put simply, it’s a high profile case and a bunch of people are giving their thoughts on the matter. Not all of them are flattering.

Sponsored Legal Knowledge Management To Drive Dealmaking Here’s how Lexis Search Advantage | Transactional unites internal and external research to create better deals faster. From Ethan Beberness

the fact that both justice thomas & justice alito sound skeptical of petitioner's theory for narrowing section 230 is … a pretty bad sign for the efforts to narrow section 230.

— Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) February 21, 2023

Just came out of the section 230 Gonzalez v. Google argument. Don't think I've seen party's lawyers do more damage to their own cases in a long time —

— Tim Wu (@superwuster) February 21, 2023

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

Someone should have taken the time to behoove counsel to maybe be a little bit more familiar with the subject material before heading to the Highest Court:

Jesus Christ this lawyer trying to dismantle section 230 thinks the thumbnails in YouTube videos are created by YouTube and not the users lmao

— Back From the Dead Fed🗽🌐🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦 (@fedtanyl) February 21, 2023

Sponsored Sponsored The State Of Today’s Corporate Law Departments A report from our friends at Thomson Reuters will help you benchmark legal spend, find greater efficiency, and innovate for the future.  From Thomson Reuters and Above the Law Sponsored Legal Knowledge Management To Drive Dealmaking Here’s how Lexis Search Advantage | Transactional unites internal and external research to create better deals faster. From Ethan Beberness Sponsored What Do Millennials Think Of Law Firm Life? We want to know your views on law firm policies and culture. From Above The Law Sponsored What Do Millennials Think Of Law Firm Life? We want to know your views on law firm policies and culture. From Above The Law

Day 1 or not, you should keep your ear to the ground for developments as time passes. The ruling could have unforeseen consequences for your late night doom scrolling:

"This may be one of the most consequential cases in the last 20 years on internet governance, both for good and bad," said Hany Farid, UC Berkeley professor & @FightExtremism Senior Advisor of Gonzalez v. Google case on #Section230 before #SCOTUS https://t.co/6vEtfxtQHo

— CEP (@FightExtremism) February 21, 2023

We will be sure to keep you updated as the story develops. Hopefully the lawyers will be a little more prepared on Day 2.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); });

U.S. Supreme Court Begins Hearing Challenge To Internet Firms’ Legal Shield [Reuters]

Sponsored Sponsored How Are Millennials Changing Law Firm Culture? We want to know about your priorities. From Above The Law Sponsored Stuck Drafting A Tough Brief? This Tool Can Help. LexisNexis Brief Analysis produces powerful, near-instant legal argumentation insights using the power of AI. From Ethan Beberness

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Topics

Communications Decency Act, Google, Section 230, YouTube