Duval Times

TikTok was recently sued following the death of a 10-year-old girl who participated in a viral challenge on the app that involved choking oneself until passing out.

Historically, courts have protected social media companies from liability for user-generated content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. However, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that content pushed by TikTok's algorithm is not covered by these protections.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), an advocate for modernizing Section 230 and regulating TikTok, commented on the court’s decision.

“The Third Circuit Court of Appeals is right: algorithms should not enjoy protections under Section 230. For years, Big Tech companies have abused these special protections even as they use murky algorithms and unaccountable teams of moderators to manipulate online discourse to their worldview. This court decision is the first step towards accountability, but Congress should also take action by passing my DISCOURSE Act to make clear algorithmic amplification, moderation activity, and other similar efforts are not protected under federal law,” stated Senator Rubio.

In June 2021, Rubio introduced the Disincentivizing Internet Service Censorship of Online Users and Restrictions on Speech and Expression (DISCOURSE) Act. The proposed legislation aims to update Section 230 so that market-dominant firms promoting or censoring material or viewpoints through algorithms would lose their protections. Additionally, it seeks to limit Section 230 immunities for large corporations failing to meet statutory obligations.