Social Media

With U.S. President Trump returning to the White House, we expect the regulatory landscape facing technology and communications companies to shift significantly, if not uniformly. 

On the one hand, media and telecommunications companies that have long been regulated heavily by the FCC can likely expect a more deregulatory environment than they have experienced under the Biden Administration (with potential caveats).  On the other, large technology companies, which have largely avoided heavy-handed regulation, can expect to face a more active regulatory environment aimed at limiting or preventing content moderation decisions that the incoming Administration has characterized as “censorship” of conservative viewpoints.  Meanwhile, bipartisan priorities—such as the commitment to ensuring national security in the telecommunications sector—will likely continue to be a major focus of regulatory agencies.  While the assessments of regulatory risks and opportunities will continue to be refined and updated as the next Trump administration takes shape, we highlight here a few trends that are likely to influence policy and regulation at the FCC over the next four years.Continue Reading Likely Trends in U.S. Tech and Media Regulation Under the New Trump Administration

In a new post on the Inside Privacy blog, our colleagues discuss SB 976, the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, which California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on September 20, 2024. The Act prohibits an “addictive internet-based service or platform” from providing an “addictive feed” to a minor unless…

Continue Reading California Passes Law to Protect Minors from “Addictive Feeds”

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue opinions in the coming months in two highly-anticipated cases — Moody v. NetChoice, L.L.C. (11th Cir.) and NetChoice, L.L.C. v. Paxton (5th Cir.) — that could potentially have significant implications for how companies moderate content on their platforms.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Expected to Rule on NetChoice Cases in the Coming Months

On 20 February, 2024, the Governments of the UK and Australia co-signed the UK-Australia Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”). The MoU seeks to serve as a framework for the two countries to jointly deliver concrete and coordinated online safety and security policy initiatives and outcomes to support their citizens, businesses and economies.

The MoU comes shortly after the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) introduced its guidance on content moderation and data protection (see our previous blog here) to complement the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, and the commencement of the Australian online safety codes, which complement the Australian Online Safety Act 2021.

The scope of the MoU is broad, covering a range of policy areas, including: harmful online behaviour; age assurance; safety by design; online platforms; child safety; technology-facilitated gender-based violence; safety technology; online media and digital literacy; user privacy and freedom of expression; online child sexual exploitation and abuse; terrorist and violent extremist content; lawful access to data; encryption; misinformation and disinformation; and the impact of new, emerging and rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence (“AI”).Continue Reading UK and Australia Agree Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation in Online Safety and Security

On 6 March 2024, the ICO issued a call for views on so-called “Consent or pay” models, where a user of a service has the option to consent to processing of their data for one or more purposes (typically targeted advertising), or pay a (higher) fee to access the service without their data being processed for those purposes. This is sometimes referred to as “pay or okay”.

The ICO has provided an “initial view” of these models, stating that UK data protection law does not outright prohibit them. It also sets out factors to consider when implementing these models and welcomes the views of publishers, advertisers, intermediaries, civil society, academia and other interested stakeholders. The consultation is open until 17 April 2024.Continue Reading UK ICO launches a consultation on “Consent or Pay” business models

This morning, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, 2 F.4th 871 (9th Cir. 2021) on the following question presented:  “Does section 230(c)(1) immunize interactive computer services when they make targeted recommendations of information provided by another information content provider, or only limit the liability of interactive computer services when they engage in traditional editorial functions (such as deciding whether to display or withdraw) with regard to such information?”  This is the first opportunity the Court has taken to interpret 47 U.S.C. § 230 (“Section 230”) since the law was enacted in 1996.Continue Reading Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google, Marking First Time Court Will Review Section 230

This quarterly update summarizes key federal legislative and regulatory developments in the second quarter of 2022 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), the Internet of Things, connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and data privacy, and highlights a few particularly notable developments in U.S. state legislatures.  To summarize, in the second quarter of 2022, Congress and the Administration focused on addressing algorithmic bias and other AI-related risks and introduced a bipartisan federal privacy bill.Continue Reading U.S. AI, IoT, CAV, and Data Privacy Legislative and Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2022

On Friday, April 22, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is part of the Department of Commerce, issued a request for comment (RFC) on the state of competition in the mobile app marketplace.  According to the RFC, the record developed will be used to inform the Biden Administration’s competition agenda, including a report on competition in the mobile app ecosystem.  Comments are due on May 23, 2022.
Continue Reading NTIA Seeks Comment on Competition in the Mobile App Marketplace

On 17 December 2020, the media authority of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein initiated legal proceedings against Google Ireland Ltd. under Germany’s new Interstate Media Treaty (Medienstaatsvertrag – “MStV”, downloadable here, German only).  The authority (Landesmedienanstalt) is investigating whether Google’s treatment of information from a “National Health Portal” offered by the German Federal Ministry of Health (“Health Ministry”) constitutes a violation of the MStV.
Continue Reading Google Knowledge Panels Challenged In Germany

FCC Chairman Pai announced today that the FCC will move forward with a rulemaking to clarify the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).  To date, Section 230 generally has been interpreted to mean that social media companies, ISPs, and other “online intermediaries” have not been subject to liability for their users’ actions.

On July 27, the Trump Administration—acting through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration—submitted a Petition for Rulemaking on Section 230, and Chairman Pai announced on August 3 that the FCC would seek public comment on the petition.  That petition asked the FCC to adopt rules to “clarify” the circumstances under which the liability shield of Section 230 applies.  Citing the FCC General Counsel’s reported position that the Commission has the legal authority to interpret Section 230, Chairman Pai today stated that a forthcoming agency rulemaking will strive to “clarify its meaning.”Continue Reading FCC Announces Section 230 Rulemaking