What is Section 230, the rule that made the modern internet?

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February 21st, 2023

A sign is shown on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. The Supreme Court is taking up its first case about a federal law that is credited with helping create the modern internet by shielding Google, Twitter, Facebook and other companies from lawsuits over content posted on their sites by others. The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday, Feb. 21, about whether the family of a terrorism victim can sue Google for helping extremists spread their message and attract new recruits. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.

A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law — namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.

Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platform’s recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.

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