US Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Twitter, Google In Terrorism Support Case - Filings

The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of tech companies Google and Twitter in two cases involving the conflict between legal protections for platforms hosting information and allegations of aiding terrorist organizations, according to opinions filed Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2023) The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of tech companies Google and Twitter in two cases involving the conflict between legal protections for platforms hosting information and allegations of aiding terrorist organizations, according to opinions filed Thursday.

The two cases, Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google, consider whether the companies are liable for information hosted on their platforms that could contribute to acts of terrorism. The Taamneh case seeks to clarify Twitter and other tech companies' responsibility for propagating Islamic State terror group (ISIS, banned in Russia) content.

"Defendants allegedly knew that ISIS was using their platforms but failed to stop it from doing so. Plaintiffs accordingly seek to hold Facebook, Twitter, and Google liable for the terrorist attack that allegedly injured them. We conclude, however, that plaintiffs' allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and abetted ISIS in carrying out the relevant attack," Justice Clarence Thomas said in the court's opinion.

The Gonzalez case alleges Google aided ISIS by hosting its recruitment videos and recommending them algorithmically. The case seeks to clarify whether legal protections granted under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunize Google from liability.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals initially issued rulings on both cases in a single opinion, holding that Gonzalez's claims were generally barred under Section 230, but that the Taamneh case's claims may hold under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The Supreme Court filed a per curiam ruling on the Gonzalez case, pointing toward their Taamneh decision and remanding the case to the Ninth Circuit.

"In light of... our disposition of Twitter (case), on which we also granted certiorari and in which we today reverse the Ninth Circuit's judgment, it has become clear that plaintiffs' complaint - independent of section 230 - states little if any claim for relief," the filing said.

The case's secondary-liability claims are "materially identical" to those at issue in the Twitter case, the filing said. The court declines to address the application of section 230 to a complaint that does not appear to state a plausible claim for relief, the filing added.

Section 230 provides protections to interactive computer services that share material from other information content providers. Federal law prevents internet sites from being treated as a "publisher or speaker" of shared content.

Both former US President Donald Trump and current officeholder Joe Biden have expressed a desire to reform the policy. Critics of Section 230 claim the law allows tech companies to claim the liability protections of a platform while maintaining the right to censor like a publisher.