Law Commons^™

Analysis Of Section 230 Under A Theory Of Premises Liability: A Focus On Herrick V.Grindr And Daniel V. Armslist, Kassandra C. Cabrera

University of Miami Business Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) has been held to give online service providers acting as interactive computer services sweeping immunity for content posted on their platforms. The intention behind the creation of Section 230 was not to immunize online service providers from all liability. Rather, Section 230 was enacted to protect online intermediaries acting as “Good Samaritans” – those who made “good faith” efforts to restrict unlawful or harmful content, but due to the breadth of the internet and advancements in technology over or under-filtered content on their platforms. This note outlines an approach for courts to …

Deplatformed: Social Network Censorship, The First Amendment, And The Argument To Amend Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act, John A. Lonigro

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act: Why California Courts Interpreted It Correctly And What That Says About How We Should Change It, E. Alex Murcia

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA). In 1997, the United States Supreme Court struck down most of the CDA. However, section 230, which protects providers and users of interactive computer services from liability for defamatory content posted to their platforms by third parties, remains in effect. In the California and federal judicial systems, courts interpret section 230’s immunity provisions broadly—so that the statute conveys broad immunity. This Note argues that the broad application of section 230’s protections is consistent with the intent of the statute’s drafters. However, it also contends that (1) this interpretation of section 230 …

Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge For Privacy, Democracy, And National Security, Danielle K. Citron, Robert Chesney

Faculty Scholarship

Harmful lies are nothing new. But the ability to distort reality has taken an exponential leap forward with “deep fake” technology. This capability makes it possible to create audio and video of real people saying and doing things they never said or did. Machine learning techniques are escalating the technology’s sophistication, making deep fakes ever more realistic and increasingly resistant to detection. Deep-fake technology has characteristics that enable rapid and widespread diffusion, putting it into the hands of both sophisticated and unsophisticated actors. While deep-fake technology will bring with it certain benefits, it also will introduce many harms. The marketplace …

Reaching Through The “Ghost Doxer:” An Argument For Imposing Secondary Liability On Online Intermediaries, Natalia Homchick

Washington and Lee Law Review

Imagine you have decided to run for office, to speak out publicly against an injustice, to enter the job market, or even to join a new online forum. Now, imagine after starting your chosen endeavor, you go online to discover that someone who disagrees with your position posted your personal information on the internet and called for others to harass you. To make matters worse, you realize that you cannot determine who posted your personal data. You have been doxed. Because you cannot identify the person who posted your information, where can you turn for recourse? The next logical party …

Web Of Lives: How Regulating The Dark Web Can Combat Online Human Trafficking, Christopher Campbell

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article argues that one of the ways to appropriately fight online human trafficking is through governmental regulation of the Dark Web. Specifically, this article argues that a new Attaching Criminal Dark Web Statute is the best method to combat human trafficking because it can incentivize prosecutors to use current human trafficking statutes to prosecute traffickers. This proposal can deter traffickers from enslaving people. Additionally, this article shows the evolution of online human trafficking laws, investigation, and prosecution (Section II); demonstrates why current and proposed laws do not effectively address the online human trafficking issue (Sections III and IV); introduces …

From Innovation To Abuse: Does The Internet Still Need Section 230 Immunity?, Benjamin Volpe

Catholic University Law Review

In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act to allow the screening of offensive material from the internet, while preserving the continued development of the internet economy without burdensome regulation. However, for years, online intermediaries have successfully used the Act as a shield from liability when third parties use their online services to commit tortious or criminal acts. This Comment argues that a wholly-unregulated internet is no longer necessary to preserve the once-fledgling internet economy. After evaluating various approaches to intermediary liability, this Comment also argues that Congress should take a more comprehensive look at consumer protection online and establish …

Trafficking Technology: A Look At Different Approaches To Ending Technology-Facilitated Human Trafficking, David Barney

Pepperdine Law Review

In 2018, many believe that slavery is an antiquated concept. But as with anything else, if it has not become extinct, it has evolved with time. Human trafficking is no different. Each year, millions of men, women and children are trafficked in the United States, and internationally, and forced to work against their will. Through the rise of technology and an increasingly globalized world, traffickers have learned to use technology as a tool to help facilitate the trafficking of persons and to sell those victims to others they never could have reached before. But what are we doing about it? …

Combating Fake News In Social Media: U.S. And German Legal Approaches, Ryan Kraski

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

When asking how fake news in social media can be combated under U.S. and German law, one must first take the systems’ most fundamental differences into consideration. U.S. law is characterized by its federal structure, the interaction of state laws often with the federal, U.S. Constitution, usage of pretrial discovery, as well as the role of juries in calculating damages. In contrast, Germany, as a civil law system, is characterized by its usage of separate legal actions to acquire information, lack of pretrial discovery, and broader array of available remedies, none of which allow for punitive damages. Through a …

Cyberspace…The Final Frontier: How The Communications Decency Act Allows Entrepreneurs To Boldly Go Where No Blog Has Gone Before, Aaron Jackson

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act: The True Culprit Of Internet Defamation, Heather Saint

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

This Note highlights the growing concern of Internet defamation and the lack of viable legal remedies available to its victims. Internet defamation is internet speech with the purpose to disparage another’s reputation. At common law, a victim of alleged defamation has the right to file suit against not only the original speaker of the defamatory statements, but the person or entity to give that statement further publication as well. In certain cases even the distributor, such as a newspaper stand, can be held liable for a defamation claim. However, liability due to defamatory speech on the Internet is quite different. …

It’S Time For Revenge Porn To Get A Taste Of Its Own Medicine: An Argument For The Federal Criminalization Of Revenge Porn, Taylor Linkous

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Throughout history, pornography and technology have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, each playing a significant role in the growth and widespread success of the other. From the VCR and camcorders to the Polaroid camera and the Internet, the pornography industry has always accelerated the growth of new technologies, paving the way for these new services to be introduced into mainstream society. Most of these new technologies were appealing to creators and consumers of pornography because the new technologies brought an increased sense of privacy. For example, much of the success of the Polaroid camera is said to come from the fact …

Secondary Liability, Isp Immunity, And Incumbent Entrenchment, Marketa Trimble, Salil K. Mehra

Scholarly Works

More than fifteen years have passed since the two major U.S. statutes concerning the secondary liability of Internet service providers were adopted--the Communications Decency Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The statutes have been criticized; however, very little of the criticism has come from Internet service providers, who have enjoyed the benefits of generous safe harbors and immunity from suit guaranteed by these statutes. This Article raises the question of whether these statutes contribute to incumbent entrenchment--solidifying the position of the existing Internet service providers to the detriment of potential new entrants. The current laws and industry self-regulation may …

Craigslist, The Cda, And Inconsistent International Standards Regarding Liability For Third-Party Postings On The Internet, Peter Adamo

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

This Comment explores the nature and purpose of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), the legislative upbringing, and the application of the CDA to Craigslist. It compares the CDA to approaches taken abroad through legislation and judicial proceedings. It explains, contrary to the one other commentator to broach the subject matter, how the CDA continues to provide robust protection to Craigslist. Finally, it explores potential avenues for redrafting the CDA as well as the difficulties and trade-offs associated with implementing such change.

Busting Blocks: Revisiting 47 U.S.C. § 230 To Address The Lack Of Effective Legal Recourse For Wrongful Inclusion In Spam Filters, Jonathan I. Ezor

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Consider a company that uses e-mail to conduct a majority of its business, including customer and vendor communication, marketing, and filing official documents. After conducting business in this manner for several years, one day the company discovers that its most recent e-mails were not delivered to recipients using a major Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) because the company was recently listed on an automated block list as a sender of unwanted bulk commercial e-mail (“spam”).

An Interpretive Framework For Narrower Immunity Under Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act, Gregory M. Dickinson

Gregory M Dickinson

Almost all courts to interpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act have construed its ambiguously worded immunity provision broadly, shielding Internet intermediaries from tort liability so long as they are not the literal authors of offensive content. Although this broad interpretation effects the basic goals of the statute, it ignores several serious textual difficulties and mistakenly extends protection too far by immunizing even direct participants in tortious conduct.

This analysis, which examines the text and history of Section 230 in light of two strains of pre-Internet vicarious liability defamation doctrine, concludes that the immunity provision of Section 230, though …

The Never-Ending Limits Of § 230: Extending Isp Immunity To The Sexual Exploitation Of Children, Katy Noeth

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas extended civil liability to Yahoo! under § 230 of the Communications Decency Act so that it could not be sued for knowingly profiting from a Web site where members exchanged sexually explicit pictures of minors. The court found that the reasoning of the seminal § 230 case, Zeran v. AOL, was analogous and that policy considerations mandated its holding.

This Note argues that a multifaceted approach is needed to prevent future courts from following that decision, including an amendment to § 230 that would impose civil liability upon …

Rethinking The Communications Decency Act: Eliminating Statutory Protections Of Discriminatory Housing Advertisements On The Internet, James D. Shanahan

Federal Communications Law Journal

The recent decision in Craigslist signals a drastic reduction in the effectiveness of the prohibition on discriminatory housing advertisements under the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives blanket immunity to Internet Content Providers from publisher liability for content originating from third parties. One of the effects of this immunity is the creation of a monopoly for discriminatory advertisements otherwise proscribed by the FHA. This Note argues that the simplest solution for Congress is to adjust the language of § 230 by adding the FHA to the list of exceptions to statutory immunity.

Bigger Phish To Fry: Californias Anti- Phishing Statute And Its Potential Imposition Of Secondary Liability On Internet Service Providers, Camille Calman

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The incidence of phishing, a form of internet fraud, has increased dramatically since 2003. Identity thieves searching for vulnerabilities in internet security have realized that customers are the weak link. Using mass e-mailings and websites purporting to be those of well-known and trusted corporations, “phishers” trick customers into revealing personal and financial information.

Internet Libel And The Communications Decency Act: How The Courts Erroneously Interpreted Congressional Intent With Regard To Liability Of Internet Service Providers, Emily K. Fritts

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting Children From Pornography On The Internet: Freedom Of Speech Is Pitching And Congress May Strike Out, Dawn S. Conrad

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Internet provides the First Amendment’s “freedom of speech” with a world of opportunity. Any person with access to the Internet may take advantage of a wide variety of information and communication methods. This unique medium, known to its users as cyberspace, is located in no particular geographical location and has no centralized control point, but is available to anyone, anywhere in the world with access." In the past twenty years, the Internet, a network of connected computers, has experienced extraordinary growth. The number of “host” computers, or those that store information and relay communications, increased between the years of …

Aclu V. Reno: Congress Places Speed Bumps On The Information Superhighway, Dharmesh S. Vashee

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act ("CDA") in an effort to regulate indecent speech on the Internet. Through the CDA, Congress sought to protect children from easily accessible, harmful materials on the Internet. In spirit, the law had noble intentions; however, on its face, the CDA raised serious constitutional questions and was immediately challenged by First Amendment advocates in ACLU v. Reno ("Reno I"). Using broad and vague terms such as "indecent" and "patently offensive," the CDA threatened to restrict adult access to a tremendous amount of speech that was constitutionally protected. Additionally, through the imposition of criminal …

The Developing Legal Infrastructure And The Globalization Of Information: Constructing A Framework For Critical Choices In The New Millennium Internet -- Character, Content And Confusion, Tomas A. Lipinski

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

This paper reviews recent attempts to extend traditional property rights and other information controls and regulations into new media, such as cyberspace, primarily the World Wide Web. It reviews developments in copyright, trademark, trademark dilution, misappropriation, trespass, censorship, tort, privacy and other legal doctrines as they are reflected in recent United States case law and legislation, and to a lesser extent, in international agreements. Legal problems often arise because there is a conflict of viewpoints in how to best characterize space on the Internet, specifically the World Wide Web. Some argue that traditional ownership rights should apply, or perhaps a …

You Can't Always Get What You Want: Government's Good Intentions V. The First Amendment's Prescribed Freedoms In Protecting Children From Sexually-Explicit Material On The Internet, Abbigale E. Bricker

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Once a small and diverse community of a handful of government computers, the Internet has expanded to an estimated 157 million users worldwide. According to current studies, the fastest growing user populations on the Internet are thirteen to eighteen year-olds and five to twelve year-olds. In addition, the latest "research . . . predicts that the number of children online [will increase] by 155% between 1998 and 2002."

Defamatory E-Mail And Employer Liability: Why Razing Zeran V. America Online Is A Good Thing, Michael H. Spencer

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Electronic mail ("e-mail") has taken its place as an integral part of communication in modern society. Unlike other forms of communication, e-mail can cheaply and efficiently be placed in a public domain for literally the world to see. These public areas, otherwise known as bulletin boards, have expanded society's ability to communicate over vast distances. Individuals or groups can also engage in mass communication, which involves a myriad of topics and concerns. Nevertheless, such electronic communications, as almost any other form of communication, can become volatile and create animosity among users. Hence, many of the remarks made in such exchanges …

Letter From The Editor, Eric R. Link

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

One of my first responsibilities as the Journal's 1996-97 editor in chief was to ask Professor John Paul Jones to serve as our faculty advisor. I made this request over dinner one evening late in the summer of 1996, and while he declined to commit (we eventually reached an agreement), he did make a very interesting observation. Being only the second editorial board in the Journal's brief history, Prof. Jones said it appeared as though I and the rest of the board were being asked to clean up after the revolution. He and I both found his comment amusing, since …

Issues In Internet Pornography, Paul J. Mcgeady, Michael Godwin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Legislative History Of Senator Exon's Communications Decency Act: Regulating Barbarians On The Information Superhighway, Robert Cannon

Federal Communications Law Journal

Among the most visible and controversial provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 have been those of an amendment to the larger act known as the Communications Decency Act. This article critically examines the legislative history of this amendment, creating a record of both official and unofficial sources. The article also notes the relevance of the legislative history as demonstrating both the unconstitutionality and the practical inefficacy of the statute.

Accidents On The Information Superhighway: On-Line Liability And Regulation, Marc L. Caden, Stephanie E. Lucas

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In one way or another, the Internet has affected or will affect our lives in a profound fashion. The Internet has fundamentally changed the way society works and plays by providing an inexpensive medium to obtain information and communicate with others. The current generation of children will be educated through computer communication, rather than from the confines of a dusty library with outdated books. However, the benefits of rapid Internet development have also opened a Pandora's box of legal issues and concerns which merit careful consideration. With roots in over 160 countries, and without a centralized authority, many now consider …