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Circumventing Section 230: Product Liability Lawsuits Threaten Internet Speech

Stock photo of people on smartphones

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

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

Cato Journal - v41n1 - cover

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.

  • Winter 2021 issue of Cato Journal

Mob Rule Is No Path to Liberty

US Capitol Building with reflection

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

Featured

Blog

Government Spending Could Top $9 Trillion

By Chris Edwards.

President Biden’s push to spend another $1.9 trillion on economic relief is surreal given that government budgets are vastly ballooned already.

Commentary

An Exit Survey of Trump’s Constitutional Misdeeds

By Ilya Shapiro. National Review (Online).

Trump broke norms and coarsened American political culture, but the bulk of his constitutional abuses involved pen‐​and‐​phone policymaking of a familiar sort.

Blog

The Distorted Minimum Wage Debate

By Ryan Bourne.

A new summary of academic studies since 1992 finds that the overwhelming majority estimate that minimum wage hikes reduce employment.

Commentary

Would Markets Have Handled the Vaccine Rollout Better Than Government?

By Scott Lincicome. The Dispatch.

What Operation Warp Speed got right—and wrong.

Commentary

Use Persuasion, Not Coercion, to Reach COVID Immunity

By Jeffrey A. Singer. Times Union.

The challenge lies in achieving balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of the general public to both be free from aggression.

Commentary

The Brutal Taiwan Dilemma Trump Will Leave for Biden

By Ted Galen Carpenter. The American Conservative.

No matter what move the new president makes, there will be major drawbacks.

Commentary

Sen. Josh Hawley Isn’t a Censorship Victim, He’s a Free Speech Menace

By Ilya Somin. USA Today.

Too many on the left and right agree that the government can use economic leverage to curb our rights.

Multimedia

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Walter Olson discusses his blog post, “10 House Members: Response To Capitol Attack Must Not Curtail Civil Liberties,” on WTAN’s Freedom Works with Paul Malloy

Featuring Walter Olson. January 26, 2021.

Colin Grabow discusses the Jones Act on KHOW’s The Ross Kaminsky Show

Featuring Colin Grabow. January 26, 2021.

Ian Vasquez discusses President Biden’s Buy American Act on Univision Noticiero

Featuring Ian Vásquez. January 26, 2021.

Domestic Politics and the China Scare

Featuring Campbell Craig and John Glaser. January 26, 2021.
More Multimedia

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Live Online Policy Forum

Defending Our Right to Test: How the FDA Restricts Direct‐​to‐​Consumer At‐​Home Testing

January 28, 2021 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST
Live Online

Featuring Nita A. Farahany, JD, PhD (@NitaFarahany), Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law, Professor of Philosophy, Duke Law School; Jessica Flanigan, PhD (@missjessica), Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law, Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values, University of Richmond; moderated by Jeffrey A. Singer, MD (@dr4liberty), Senior Fellow, Cato Institute.

Live Online Policy Forum

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Taskforce Report

February 4, 2021 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST
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Featuring Todd Zywicki (@ToddZywicki), Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; George Selgin (@GeorgeSelgin), Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute.

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After COVID-19: Building an Inclusive Economy for California

April 20, 2021 9:00 AM to 12:45 PM PDT (12:00 PM to 3:45 PM EDT)
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Featuring Michael Tanner, Cato Institute; Julian Cañete, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce; Jay King, California Black Chamber of Commerce; Rob Lapsley, California Business Roundtable; Anastasia P. Boden, Pacific Legal Foundation.

Special Event

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Save the New Date: May 26, 2021 6:00 PM EDT to May 27, 2021 6:00 PM EDT

For more information, please contact Sophia Coyne‐​Kosnak at (202) 216‑1490 / sck@​cato.​org.

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