Circumventing Section 230: Product Liability Lawsuits Threaten Internet Speech
Over the past decade, social media platforms have radically expanded our ability to communicate and transact with one another. As a matter of law, these platforms cannot be treated as the speaker of their users’ speech; Section 230 of the Communications Act places liability for hosted content on its creator. However, several innovative lawsuits threaten to circumvent Section 230’s protections by alleging that platforms’ scale and ease of use constitute negligent design. In a new study, Cato scholar Will Duffield argues that these suits contravene the statute’s purpose and threaten Americans’ access to the tools upon which they increasingly rely.
- “Circumventing Section 230: Product Liability Lawsuits Threaten Internet Speech,” by Will Duffield
Some Ideas for President Biden
Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. He inherits the coronavirus pandemic and surrounding crises. Cato’s Pandemics and Policy series provides an actionable guide to policies that can harness American ingenuity and foster a resilient society capable of meeting the challenges ahead — with ideas that appeal across the political divide.
- Pandemics and Policy, a Cato Institute series
- “What Biden Should Do on Legal Immigration,” by David J. Bier
- “President Biden Must Restore American Trade Leadership,” by Simon Lester
New Cato Journal Looks at Modern Monetary Theory, U.S. Trade Policy toward China
In her influential book The Deficit Myth, Stephanie Kelton provides a diagnosis of what went wrong in Greece and a roadmap to the economic promised land for countries that follow her advice. Greece, it turns out, is Kelton’s poster child for the way not to enter the promised land. In the new issue of Cato Journal, George S. Tavlas assesses what went wrong in Greece through the lens of Kelton’s exposition of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Also in this issue, Scott Lincicome argues that pretending today that there was a better trade policy choice in 2000—when Congress granted China “permanent normal trade relations” (PNTR) status and paved the way for broader engagement—is misguided.
Mob Rule Is No Path to Liberty
The Cato Institute has long worked to encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s Founding documents. Among these principles is the peaceful transfer of power after free and fair elections. “The assault on the Capitol is a tragic violation of these principles,” writes Cato President and CEO Peter Goettler. “We condemn these actions in the strongest terms, support the rule of law and the Constitution, and reject the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
- “Mob Rule Is No Path to Liberty,” by Peter Goettler
- “Only Impeachment Is Censure Enough,” by Gene Healy
- “Reflections on the President’s Conduct,” by Robert A. Levy