[ExI] Wired: Clarence Thomas Wants to Rethink Internet Speech. Be Afraid

[John Grigg]

"While this week’s dominant Supreme Court drama was the kabuki questioning
of nominee Amy Coney Barrett, something of immediate interest came from the
actual Supremes. Appended to a denial of cert—that is, the court’s refusal
to reconsider an appellate decision—was a 10-page comment
<https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/101320zor_8m58.pdf> from
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. The subject was a controversial
provision of the 1996 Communications Decency Act known as Section 230
<https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230>. It allows online platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, Google, Reddit, and 4Chan to post things from users
without any vetting. Under the law, those companies can give voice to
billions of people without taking legal responsibility for what those
people say. It also gives the platforms the right to moderate content; they
can get rid of not just illegal content but also stuff that is nasty but
legal, such as hate speech or intentional misinformation, without losing
their immunity.

Though Thomas admitted that his comment had no bearing on the case under
consideration, he used the opportunity to volunteer some thoughts on 230.
Basically, he feels that lower-court judges have interpreted it too
broadly, extending immunity beyond the intent of the lawmakers. He wants to
change that. “We need not decide today the correct interpretation of 230,”
he wrote. “But in an appropriate case, it behooves us to do so.” In other
words, *bring it on!"*

*https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-clarence-thomas-wants-to-rethink-internet-speech-be-afraid/
<https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-clarence-thomas-wants-to-rethink-internet-speech-be-afraid/>*
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