{"id":1377303,"date":"2022-03-15T05:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T09:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1377303"},"modified":"2022-03-15T08:10:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T12:10:12","slug":"supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-wants-a-section-230-reckoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-wants-a-section-230-reckoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Wants a Section 230 Reckoning"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsupreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-wants-a-section-230-reckoning%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1377303&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/51582088711_16da5685bc_k.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Clarence Thomas has done it again. Never one to shy away from the Big Tech debate, the conservative Supreme Court justice recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/orders\/courtorders\/030722zor_1a7d.pdf\">hinted<\/a> that Section 230\u2014\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cornellpress.cornell.edu\/book\/9781501714412\/the-twenty-six-words-that-created-the-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the twenty-six words that created the internet<\/a>\u201d\u2014could soon be in the highest court\u2019s crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>In the simplest of terms, Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act grants immunity from civil liability for third-party content hosted on \u201cinteractive computer services.\u201d On March 7, Thomas identified two foundational issues with the application of this statute in its current form. First, the courts\u2019 broad interpretations have led to sweeping immunity for today\u2019s tech platforms. Second, Big Tech companies never fail to abuse the privilege.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asserts that expansive interpretations of Section 230 from 1996 onward may clash with the original text. He contends that arguments favoring this broad immunity \u201crest largely on \u2018policy and purpose\u2019\u201d instead of the statute\u2019s plain text.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time Thomas has made this claim. In his October 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/20pdf\/19-1284_869d.pdf\">statement<\/a> on <em>Malwarebytes, Inc. v. Enigma Software<\/em>, he challenged previous decisions by the courts, writing that their interpretations have \u201clong emphasized nontextual arguments,\u201d leaving \u201cquestionable precedent\u201d in their wake. But it is his impugnment of the tech companies themselves\u2014who use the statute as a shield\u2014that deserves attention.<\/p>\n<p>There is a reason Thomas opened his March statement on <em>Jane Doe v. Facebook<\/em> with a gob-smacking narration, briskly detailing how \u201can adult, male sexual predator used Facebook to lure 15-year-old Jane Doe to a meeting, shortly after which she was repeatedly raped, beaten, and trafficked for sex.\u201d Thomas later asks if immunity from such abuses are really \u201cwhat the law demands.\u201d The question is a good one.<\/p>\n<p>Should Big Tech companies continue to hide behind their \u201ccapacious\u201d immunity for both failing to apprise users of defects in their products or neglecting to protect them from the \u201cmalicious or objectionable activity of their users\u201d? The answer, according to Thomas, appears to be no. For it is difficult to see why the law \u201cshould protect Facebook from liability for its own \u2018acts and omissions.\u2019\u201d The platforms should incur blame\u2014and attendant consequences\u2014for their actions.<\/p>\n<p>These acts and omissions take myriad forms. Tech companies often turn a blind eye to sex trafficking, deliberately draw in children as a key demographic, and wantonly apply their \u201ccommunity standards\u201d based on political winds.<\/p>\n<p>Without the deterrent effect of private lawsuits, it is likely tech companies are more emboldened to target younger audiences, opening them to a litany of abuses. Big Tech\u2019s penchant for seeking out younger and younger children to lure in with highly addictive content is a testament to this. <\/p>\n<p>For instance, internal Facebook documents published by The Wall Street Journal in 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-instagram-kids-tweens-attract-11632849667\">revealed<\/a> that the company considered \u201ctweens\u201d to be a \u201cvaluable but untapped market\u201d and formed a team devoted to coaxing them to the platform. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/topics\/6077\/tiktok\/#dossierKeyfigures\">quarter of all Americans<\/a> on the Chinese Communist Party-beholden app TikTok are teenagers or younger as of early 2021. And Twitter is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2022\/03\/08\/twitter-teenagers-michael-sayman\/\">deliberately<\/a> attempting to compete in that demographic through key hires aimed at attracting young people.<\/p>\n<p>Most galling of all, these companies are aware of their deleterious effects on the next generation, yet continue their efforts to court them. Facebook itself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739\">concluded<\/a> that a correlation between Instagram and teen suicidal ideation (among other teen mental health issues) exists, but still believes building an Instagram platform for children under 13 is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/pausing-instagram-kids\">the right thing to do<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Human traffickers, foreign, Islamist terrorists and their propagandists, and drug cartels also proliferate on these platforms, often shielded by Section 230\u2019s expansive protections. As Facebook\u2019s vice president of state public policy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/facebook-admits-human-smuggling-enter-countries-illegally\">noted in 2021<\/a>, Facebook \u201c[allows] people to share information about how to enter a country illegally or request information about how to be smuggled.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Thomas cited related dereliction this week as well, saying that in spite of Facebook\u2019s awareness of its crimes, the company was:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>afforded publisher immunity even though Facebook allegedly \u2018knows its system facilitates human traffickers in identifying and cultivating victims,\u2019 but has nonetheless \u2018failed to take any reasonable steps to mitigate the use of Facebook by human traffickers\u2019 because doing so would cost the company users\u2014and the advertising revenue those users generate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Other noxious \u201cacts and omissions\u201d by these companies include marketing themselves as democratizers of information while enforcing a two-tiered justice system that <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/04\/trump-is-right-big-tech-is-a-disgrace-to-democracy\/\">punishes<\/a> and excludes a certain set of thinkers. For instance, last Thursday, Facebook announced it would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/exclusive-facebook-instagram-temporarily-allow-calls-violence-against-russians-2022-03-10\/\">temporarily lift<\/a> its ban on violent speech if that speech is directed against Russians and Russian soldiers. (Facebook\u2019s initial <a href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2021\/01\/responding-to-the-violence-in-washington-dc\/\">justification<\/a> for the suspension of former President Donald Trump\u2019s account was that his posts contribute to \u201cthe risk of ongoing violence.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Additional examples of this uneven application of community standards by Big Tech companies are <a href=\"https:\/\/censortrack.org\/\">legion<\/a>, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/05\/26\/facebook-ban-covid-man-made-491053\">Covid-19 misinformation suspensions<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2020\/oct\/14\/facebook-twitter-new-york-post-hunter-biden\">suppression<\/a> of the Hunter Biden laptop story to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/spanish-politician-suspended-by-twitter-after-saying-a-man-cannot-get-pregnant\">denial<\/a> of biological realities to their tolerance of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KremlinRussia_E\">Vladimir Putin<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/gallagher.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/gallagher-warns-new-twitter-ceo-ccp-s-malign-activity-platform\">Chinese Communist Party activity<\/a> on these platforms. Clearly, Big Tech\u2019s abuse of Section 230 covers all manner of sins.<\/p>\n<p>The implications of Justice Thomas\u2019s thinking for Big Tech are stark. He presents two routes the government can take.<\/p>\n<p>First, he defers to Congress\u2019s role in clarifying the statute, stating that Congress \u201cmay soon resolve the burgeoning debate\u201d about how correctly federal courts have interpreted Section 230. In his April 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/20pdf\/20-197_5ie6.pdf\">statement<\/a> on <em>Biden v. Knight<\/em>, Thomas emphasizes the legislative body\u2019s agency in this realm, noting we got into this mess when Congress provided digital platforms with immunity from specific lawsuits without imposing corresponding responsibilities, like nondiscrimination.<\/p>\n<p>Second, \u201cassuming Congress does not step in to clarify Section 230\u2019s scope,\u201d Thomas suggests the Supreme Court should fill the now-gaping void of inaction.<\/p>\n<p>They may not have to. Energy on Capitol Hill behind proposals to clarify 230 may yield concrete results in the next few years. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/house-bill\/2000\/text\">significant overhauls<\/a> to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/republicans-energycommerce.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/24-Crenshaw-Lawful-Content-and-Political-Affiliation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carve-outs<\/a> to more narrow <a href=\"https:\/\/republicans-energycommerce.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1-CMR-Censorship.pdf\">reforms<\/a> on the right, to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warner.senate.gov\/public\/_cache\/files\/4\/f\/4fa9c9ba-2b34-4854-8c19-59a0a9676a31\/66DECFBC0D6E6958C2520C3A6A69EAF6.safe-tech-act---final.pdf\">targeted exceptions<\/a> to immunity on the left, Congress is poised to address the evolution of its \u201890s era legislation and clear up the scope of the law.<\/p>\n<p>But should they fail, Thomas\u2019s most recent attempt to rally his confreres on the court may be exactly what Americans need to compel a reckoning with Big Tech. There is no better man to lead the charge.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Kara Frederick is a Research Fellow in the Center for Technology Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Her research focuses on Big Tech and emerging technology policy. She helped create and lead Facebook\u2019s Global Security Counterterrorism Analysis Program and was the team lead for Facebook Headquarters\u2019 Regional Intelligence Team. Prior to Facebook, she was a Senior Intelligence Analyst for a U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command and spent six years as a counterterrorism analyst at the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clarence Thomas has done it again. Never one to shy away from the Big Tech debate, the conservative Supreme Court justice recently hinted that Section 230\u2014\u201cthe twenty-six words that created<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1377303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1377303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1377303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1377303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1377303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}