In a defense brief filed to the US Supreme Court Thursday, Google warned that altering Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — which protects internet-based companies from being sued for content created by their users — would “upend the internet.”
The brief is part of Google’s defense in a lawsuit brought by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old US citizen who was killed by ISIS in Paris in November 2015. Oral arguments for the case are set to be heard on February 21.
The family argues that Google-owned YouTube violated the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) when its algorithms recommended ISIS-related content to users. They argue that even if the company is not liable for the ISIS content, the algorithmic recommendations should not be protected by Section 230.
