AEI Section 230 Spring Summit, Part III: Highlights from an Expert Panel Discussion Evaluating Section 230 Reform

By Shane Tews | Mark Jamison AEIdeas May 25, 2023

Below is an edited and abridged transcript of key highlights from that panel. You can watch the full event on AEI.org and read the full transcript here.

Shane Tews: How should we be thinking about Section 230, and what happens if we change the statute?

Lateef Mtima: We place a lot of emphasis on the positive impact that Section 230 has had on marginalized voices. But it’s not just marginalized voices, it’s everybody. Every citizen in America now has the opportunity to opine on just about anything. And it has brought the benefits of the First Amendment into reality. So when we think about what Section 230 has done, it’s beneficial to think about its impact on “marginalized communities” and outsider voices. And remember, this includes not what you would traditionally think about as outsider. Rural communities, artistic communities, and virtually anyone outside the mainstream. And if we break Section 230, all of that goes away. And we go back to a situation in which you basically have a very tiny portion of mainstream America that controls the public conversation..........To Read More..

Landmark Supreme Court Rulings Safeguard the Internet’s Liability Shield - By Shane Tews | Clay Calvert AEIdeas May 22, 2023 - Internet users and platforms alike can breathe a sigh of relief. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube all emerged victorious on May 18 when the US Supreme Court issued dual decisions in Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google, LCC. The core tension centered on Section 230, the federal statute that shields websites from being held liable for user-generated content, on top of protections provided by the First Amendment. The Court, in preserving a robust internet, rebuffed the plaintiffs’ efforts in both cases to hold the platforms civilly liable for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorist attacks by hosting and algorithmically recommending ISIS-supportive content.

In ruling in favor of the platforms, however, the Court declined to take on a key issue in Gonzalez: Whether Section 230 provides immunity for platforms when they use algorithms to suggest or recommend third-party content—not just host it. Reflecting the Court’s penchant for minimalism under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court didn’t need to address the Section 230 issue because it found that the underlying substantive theories of the plaintiffs in both cases were deficient................. 

Missouri v. Biden Lawsuit Discovery: Biden Regime Designates YOUR THOUGHTS as Part of Government Infrastructure – They Call It “Cognitive Infrastructure” and They Believe It Is Their Right to Control It  - by Jim Hoft May. 25, 2023 - In Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry,  filed a lawsuit (Missouri v. Biden) against the Biden Administration, including Biden himself, Anthony Fauci, the Department of Homeland Security, and nearly a dozen federal agencies and Secretaries.  Schmitt has moved on to represent Missouri in the US Senate. The suit alleges a massive coordinated effort by the Deep State (permanent administrative state) to work with Big Tech to censor and manipulate Americans – from average citizens to news outlets – on issues including the Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell, 2020 Election Integrity, COVID-19 origin and extent skepticism, COVID-19 vaccine skepticism, among other issues................