Supreme Court skirts decision on rule that protects social media companies from what users post
In the case, Gonzalez v. Google, the court said it would "decline to address the application" of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 19: The Supreme Court of the United States, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. The High Court is expected to rule on wether or not to allow restrictions on the drugs mifepristone ordered by a lower court to take effect as abortion opponents are seeking to roll back FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used in the most common method of abortion in the United States. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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The Supreme Court declined to address the legal liability shield that protects tech platforms from being held responsible for their users' posts, the court said in an unsigned opinion on Thursday.
The decision leaves in place, for now, a broad liability shield that protects companies like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube and Twitter from being held liable for their users' speech on their platforms.
In the case, Gonzalez v. Google, the court said it would "decline to address the application" of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that protects platforms from their users' posts and also allows the services to moderate or remove posts. The court said it made that decision because the complaint "appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief."
The Supreme Court said it would vacate and remand, or send back, the decision to the Ninth Circuit court to reconsider in light of its decision on a separate case, Twitter v. Taamneh.
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