"Supreme Court Seems Likely To Move Cautiously In Gonzalez v. Google"

"Justices across the ideological spectrum said they were confused by the plaintiff’s case and concerned about undermining Congress’s intent".

"Supreme Court justices suggested Tuesday that they might move cautiously in their first examination of the federal law that protects internet companies from lawsuits concerning the platforms’ posting of content from third parties.

The justices heard more than two and a half hours of arguments regarding the claim by the family of an exchange student killed in an Islamic State attack that Google’s YouTube should be liable for promoting content from the group.

But justices across the ideological spectrum said they were confused by the arguments offered by the family’s lawyer and worried that the court could undermine an effort by Congress to provide immunity for the platforms decades ago, when lawmakers wanted to encourage the development of the internet.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said one could question why Congress provided such protections when passing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which has been interpreted by courts to provide wide immunity from lawsuits when the sites post content from outside parties."

Robert Barnes reports for the Washington Post February 21, 2023.