The two related cases hinge on the Court’s interpretation of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act; the “26 words that created the internet.”
Washington D.C., January 19th, 2023 — The Developers Alliance has announced its filing of an amicus brief in the case of Gonzalez v. Google LLC which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this year. The Alliance joined CCIA, Netchoice, SIIA, Chamber of Progress, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, CTA and ACT in a brief on Dec. 6 2023 in a companion case Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh.
In the Gonzalez brief, the Developers Alliance argues that content moderation has been a fundamental part of multi-user networks since before the internet was born, and that Congress sought to protect internet companies’ ability to moderate content when they drafted Section 230. The brief outlines how search, moderation and recommendation systems work, how they are related, and specifically argues that the unique language of computer science and the concepts it captures must be taken into account when the law and the internet collide.
Key Facts
- Section 230 protects content moderation by insulating platforms from liability for user created content
- It focuses civil liability on Internet users for the content they create, leaving in place platform liability for its own creative content.
- Section 230 remains good law, with a purpose and scope that is as relevant and beneficial today as when it was enacted.
The following quote can be attributed to Bruce Gustafson, CEO of the Alliance:
“Since the internet was born, courts have struggled to map real-world legal principles into the virtual world. When courts go astray, it’s up to lawmakers to put them on the right path, as Congress did in safeguarding moderation with Section 230. Supreme Court procedure welcomes voices like the developer community to help inform them as they consider questions that reverberate far beyond the litigants in the courtroom. Content moderation is a fundamental part of how the internet has always operated. Without it, the internet is just another TV station.”
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About The Developers Alliance
The Developers Alliance is the world’s leading advocate for software developers and the companies invested in their success. Alliance members include industry leaders in consumer, enterprise, industrial, and emerging software development, and a global network of more than 75,000 developers.
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