What: This week the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in two cases that could impact the future of the internet. Yesterday began the case of Gonzalez v. Google, which is questioning if tech companies are liable for the content promoted by its algorithms. Both cases could impact Section 230 of Communications Decency Act of 1996 that protects online platforms from liability for content created by its users, if overturned it would make tech companies at risk for more lawsuits.
American University has professors and scholars available to comment on Sec. 230 reforms, free speech on the web, social media, and internet and technology law.
When: Thursday, February 23 - ongoing
Background: American University experts who are available for interviews are:
Michael W. Carroll is a professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at AU’s Washington College of Law. He teaches and writes about intellectual property law and cyberlaw. Professor Carroll's research focuses on the search for balance in intellectual property law over time in the face of challenges posed by new technologies. His research includes projects about the social costs imposed by one-size-fits-all intellectual property rights and about the history of copyright in music. Professor Carroll also is recognized as a leading advocate for open access over the Internet to the research that appears in scholarly and scientific journals. In addition, he is an Academic Fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
Aram Sinnreich is a professor and chair of the Communication Studies division at AU’s School of Communication. Sinnreich’s work focuses on the intersection of culture, law and technology, with an emphasis on subjects such as surveillance, critical data studies, intellectual property, remix culture, and music. He recently published a new research in Communication Law & Policy with SOC Professor Patricia Aufderheide, analyzing all of the bills to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act from its passage through Biden’s inauguration, as well as all the media coverage of the issue.
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