John, Over the past several years, we have watched social media companies enormously profit by recommending content containing disinformation, incitement to violence, and hate speech, with significant ramifications to the health of their users and the stability of democracy both here and in other countries. Now the Supreme Court is poised to decide: are Big Tech companies immune from lawsuits that would hold them accountable for the content their algorithms recommend? This week, we submitted an amicus brief in Gonzalez v. Google, LLC, arguing that Google does not have blanket immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and should be held accountable for algorithm-generated, targeted recommendations on YouTube that helped incite violence. The plaintiffs in this case are the relatives of a U.S. citizen murdered by ISIS terrorists in France. They alleged, in part, that Google, as the owner of YouTube, violated the Anti-Terrorism Act because it affirmatively recommended ISIS-produced terrorist videos to YouTube users, thereby aiding, abetting, and/or providing substantial assistance to ISIS. Our brief urges the Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that Google is wholly immune from lawsuits arising from its recommendations of content posted on YouTube. Make no mistake: Google’s algorithm is controlled and utilized by Google, and thus its recommendations are created and developed by the company. The same is true for Twitter, Meta, and other Big Tech giants. Nothing in the text of Section 230 distinguishes recommendations created by algorithm from recommendations manually created by a company employee. The text of Section 230 does not provide immunity to Big Tech companies for content that they create, and the Supreme Court should not allow Section 230 to be expanded beyond its meaning to grant such immunity. But, the work will not end here. Our laws must be updated to ensure that Big Tech companies can be held accountable for amplifying disinformation, undermining our democracy, and inciting violence. Sign the Petition: Show your support for the Big Tech Accountability Act. In solidarity, Courtney Hostetler
Senior Counsel, Free Speech For People | 
