Censorship Lawsuits and the Dirty Fight Against Social Media
In the wake of the raid on the US capitol in January, the amount of moderation by social media companies has increased significantly. The moderation heavy approach is due to social media’s part in the now-infamous raid in terms of spreading information about the riot and encouraging it. This move places more controversial conservative figures in the crosshairs of moderation teams who attempt to “discourage hate and violence” through heavy-handed means. The application of these moderation attempts is now in question, and legislators are trying to step in.

GOP state lawmakers are starting to push laws that allow individuals to sue companies for having their posts taken down. These laws could penalize companies based on the number of posts taken down with financial penalties up to tens of thousands of dollars. This new suite of laws challenges the status quo of big social media giants being immune from legal measures. Punitive legal measures will have to conquer the infamous CDA section 230 to succeed, though.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives big tech companies and other platforms a strong liability shield from information that is posted on their sites. This law means that social media companies can sleep at night and not worry about lawsuits. Legal shielding has proven to be a double-edged sword as some companies have been accused of hosting unsavory or hateful information, but individuals can not do much about it. Unchecked freedom for social media giants has made many question the merits of CDA 230 and whether it should finally be canned; However, the push for punitive laws against big tech is only one part of the picture.
Both GOP and Democrat representatives have had their crosshairs on social media ever since the latest federal elections. Democrats complain that social media giants have not done enough to censor false information in the wake of recent political events. GOP representatives complain that social media giants have unfairly censored conservative voices too much. Social media giants are currently in a catch-22 where someone will be pissed off no matter what.

Another side of the proposed regulation is that it will fuel the pro-Trump republican base in the wake of Biden’s victory in 2020. Stoking the flames will be essential if GOP leaders want to win seats in the 2022 midterm elections as Democrats will most likely be less energized compared to 2020. Regardless of whether the legislation passes, republicans across the country will be moved to take action against the blue tide.
In terms of the actual effects of the proposed legislation the possible damage to the social media ecosystem could be huge. False information could flood social media even more in the wake of anti-censorship social media laws of the future. A new flood of fake info would create a repeat of the 2016 election fiasco. Another possible effect would be making social media companies even more reserved to protect their legal bases. Special approved accounts and limited posting could be a form of controlling potential lawsuits. Finally, government overregulation could destroy social media and all online platforms in irreparable ways. Popular mainstream platforms could collapse or completely restructure their business to be non-sharable.

The mounting legal pressure on big tech is starting to kick in, and new laws are only the beginning. More hearings and committees are sure to follow as legislators on both sides seek to take down Silicon Valley and friends. If Biden’s administration joins the cause, corporate entities will be torn down in a bi-partisan frenzy. The next few years will be very interesting for the controversial tech giants in more ways than one.
Sources: https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-legislature-media-lawsuits-social-media-848c0189ff498377fbfde3f6f5678397
Hmm it seems like your website
ate my first comment (it was super long) so I
guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole
thing. Do you have any suggestions
for beginner blog
writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.
wonderful and remarkable blog site. I truly wish to thank you,
for providing us better details.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate
to this excellent blog!
I suppose for now I’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to brand new updates and will share this site with
my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Do you have a spam issue on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; many of us have created some nice practices and we are looking to swap solutions with other folks, be sure to shoot me an e-mail if interested.
Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.
Nice answer back in return of this difficulty with real arguments and
explaining the whole thing on the topic of that.
Keep functioning ,splendid job!
Deference to author, some wonderful selective information.
You made some nice points there. I looked on the internet for the subject matter and found most people will consent with your website.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My blog site is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thanks!
I have not checked in here for a while since I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
An fascinating discussion is value comment. I believe that you should write extra on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but usually people are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers
F*ckin’ amazing issues here. I am very satisfied to peer your article. Thanks so much and i’m having a look forward to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
Have you ever thought about writing an e-book or guest authoring on other blogs?
I have a blog centered on the same ideas you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my audience would enjoy your work.
If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.
Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting info .
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers
I very delighted to find this site on bing, just what I was looking for : D likewise bookmarked.
Very interesting info!Perfect just what I was looking for!
As I web-site possessor I believe the content material here is rattling great , appreciate it for your hard work. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.
Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
Reading your article helped me a lot and I agree with you. But I still have some doubts, can you clarify for me? I’ll keep an eye out for your answers.
Thank you for sharing with us, I believe this website really stands out : D.
Excellent beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your website, how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept