"University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo says the Twitter lawsuit will not succeed for two reasons: Either the judge will decide an algorithm changing links or scanning for keywords is no different than a spellcheck or other automated program that people don't object to or the plaintiffs will not be able to demonstrate harm that a court would remedy.
"What Twitter is doing is probably not legally actionable any more than Gmail scanning emails for advertising," Calo said.
However, Calo says, even if it's not "legally actionable" when an algorithm, and not a person, scans messages, that does not mean that in certain circumstances an algorithm might not cause harm.
"It would be unwise to have a blanket rule," he said."
- Date Published:09/15/2015
- Original Publication:USA Today