The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
Intermediary Liability
Whether and when communications platforms like Google, Twitter and Facebook are liable for their users’ online activities is one of the key factors that affects innovation and free speech. Most creative expression today takes place over communications networks owned by private companies. Governments around the world increasingly press intermediaries to block their users’ undesirable online content in order to suppress dissent, hate speech, privacy violations and the like. One form of pressure is to make communications intermediaries legally responsible for what their users do and say. Liability regimes that put platform companies at legal risk for users’ online activity are a form of censorship-by-proxy, and thereby imperil both free expression and innovation, even as governments seek to resolve very real policy problems.
In the United States, the core doctrines of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have allowed these online intermediary platforms user generated content to flourish. But, immunities and safe harbors for intermediaries are under threat in the U.S. and globally as governments seek to deputize intermediaries to assist in law enforcement.
To contribute to this important policy debate, CIS studies international approaches to intermediary obligations concerning users’ copyright infringement, defamation, hate speech or other vicarious liabilities, immunities, or safe harbors; publishes a repository of information on international liability regimes and works with global platforms and free expression groups to advocate for policies that will protect innovation, freedom of expression, privacy and other user rights.
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What Happened to the 'Golden Age of Free Speech'? (Past Event)
For more information and to RSVP visit: https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/what-happened-to-the-golden-age-of-f...
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Public Interest Careers in Law, Policy, and Technology (Past Event)
Interested in working in public interest technology law and policy? Want to find out what you can do now to build a career in this growing area? Join the Stanford Center for Internet and Society and the Levin Center to discuss the broad range of available options and how to identify and evaluate prospective employers, plus how to make the most of your time at SLS to position yourself for the future. Read more about Public Interest Careers in Law, Policy, and Technology
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Stanford Internet and Society Lab - Intermediary Liability (Past Event)
Internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter play an ever-increasing role in our lives, and mediate our personal and public communications. What laws govern their choices about our speech? Come discuss the law of platforms and online free expression with CIS Intermediary Liability Director Daphne Keller. Read more about Stanford Internet and Society Lab - Intermediary Liability