JONES DAY PRESENTS®: Section 230: A Springboard to a First Amendment Discussion
New Developments in the World of Section 230
Trump vs. Twitter: The Feud Over Section 230 and Online Censorship
On July 28, 2025, a New York state appellate court ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 bars claims against online platforms based on user-generated content made accessible through the platforms'...more
On June 30, 2025, the Honorable Paul Goetz of the New York Supreme Court held that plaintiff Norma Nazario’s lawsuit for the death of her son in a 2023 “subway surfing” incident could proceed against social media companies...more
State governments, public school districts, and individuals are suing social media companies, such as TikTok and Snapchat, alleging that defects in their algorithms and platform features cause psychological and physical harm,...more
Social media safety is very much in the news these days, with policymakers unleashing a torrent of legislation to protect children online, such as age verification measures, parental consent mandates, data privacy...more
On February 20, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a public inquiry regarding whether any technology platforms, including social media, communications, and other internet service providers, have violated the...more
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a case that sought to hold Facebook parent company Meta liable for the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal...more
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff announced a Request for Information (RFI) on February 20 seeking public comments on “how consumers may have been harmed by technology platforms that limited their ability to share ideas or...more
President Donald Trump’s Executive Order titled, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” is the Administration’s first step to pursue the President’s content moderation goals for social media and broadcast...more
In Ryan v. X Corp., a Northern District of California court held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunized X (formerly Twitter) against claims arising from suspension of a user’s account, notwithstanding...more
As the world’s premier blog and go-to source for insightful, pithy commentary on the law and business of social media (EDITOR’S NOTE: this claim has not been verified), the team at Socially Aware feels socially responsible to...more
As proliferation of harmful content online has increasingly become easier and more accessible through social media, review websites and other online public forums, businesses and politicians have pushed to reform and limit...more
In a recent landmark decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that TikTok could be held liable in a wrongful death suit stemming from the “Blackout Challenge” — a disturbing trend promoted through the...more
Social media giant TikTok has been sued by the United States for allegedly collecting data on children under thirteen illegally. The suit claims the app, which is owned by China-based parent company ByteDance, allowed...more
In a rare example of bipartisan agreement, the dramatically named DEFIANCE (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits) Act unanimously passed the Senate. The bill allows victims of AI-generated deepfake...more
Last month, the Ninth Circuit reeled back protections for digital media platforms on which scam ads are found. Calise v. Meta Platforms, Inc., 103 F.4th 732 (9th Cir. 2024) Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act...more
In our fourth installment of our six-part series examining Section 230—the segment of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) that immunizes online service providers from liability stemming from content created by third...more
A coalition of 20 Republican and three Democratic AGs submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Doe v. Snap, Inc., No. 23-961, urging the Court to grant petitioner’s writ of certiorari and reverse the...more
As we reported in 2023, Utah was the first state in the nation to enact laws limiting minors’ use of social media. In early March 2024, Republican Governor Spencer Cox effectively repealed and replaced the previously enacted...more
In the prior two installments of our six-part series examining Section 230, the section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) that immunizes online service providers from liability stemming from the publication and...more
Recent Senate hearings on social media safety have spotlighted the urgent need to protect children online, a concern that’s increasingly challenging the legal frameworks governing online platforms. Against this backdrop, the...more
The Internet makes it easier than ever to connect with people around the world, share ideas and information, and have their voices heard regardless of whether they are a single individual with limited resources or a massive...more
On July 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an administrative stay of an order that would prohibit certain federal officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies on content...more
Here at Socially Aware we talk a lot about Section 230, the section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) that immunizes social media platforms and other online service providers from liability stemming from content...more
Just twelve days after Supreme Court of the United States issued a per curiam decision in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, in which the Court declined to address the application of §230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47...more
Should tech companies be liable for the content their users post? They haven’t been, and after two Supreme Court decisions on May 18, they’ll continue not to be liable—a major win for tech companies....more