Internet Law
Maker of Snapchat can be sued for speed filter used by youths before fatal crash, 9th Circuit rules
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A federal appeals court has ruled that Snapchat isn’t protected from liability by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a case alleging that three youths died in a car crash after using the app’s speed filter.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco said Section 230 immunity isn’t available in a lawsuit alleging negligent design of an app, report NPR, Law360 and Courthouse News Service.
Section 230 protects technology companies from liability for content posted by others. But the 9th Circuit said Snap Inc., the maker of Snapchat, could be liable because the suit’s negligent design claim wasn’t based on third-party content.
By NAOMI NIX | Bloomberg | Published: May 6, 2021 The decision by a Facebook panel to extend for up to six months former President Donald Trump s banishment from the social media platform has renewed calls to revoke the legal shield that enabled Facebook to grow into one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world. Minutes after the announcement, it was clear that the Facebook ruling hadn t pleased liberals or conservatives. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted that Republicans would move to rein in big tech power over our speech if the GOP takes control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections.
Top 10 Outrageous Deepfake Scandals
There is no denying it: artificial intelligence is changing the world as we know it. But are those changes for the better? In recent years, we have witnessed the rise of the deepfake. Nifty algorithms allow users to doctor photos and videos, replacing one person’s face with that of someone else.
Deepfake technology has been put to a broad range of uses, many of them positive. Star Wars fans have modified footage from 2018’s Solo movie so that lead actor Alden Ehrenreich resembles a young Harrison Ford. Only last Christmas, British TV station Channel 4 broadcast a digitally-altered version of the Queen’s speech. Instead of her usual message of goodwill, Her Majesty was seen making snide jokes about the year’s events before jumping onto her desk for a festive boogie.
Snapchat Can Be Sued For Role In Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules
at 4:51 pm NPR
Three young men got into a car in Walworth County, Wisc. in May 2017. They were set on driving at rapid speeds down a long, cornfield-lined road â and sharing their escapade on social media.
As the 17-year-old behind the wheel accelerated to 123 miles per hour, one of the passengers opened Snapchat.
His parents say their son wanted to capture the experience using one of the app s filters that documents real-life speed, hoping for engagement and attention from followers on the messaging app.
It was one of the last things the trio did before the vehicle ran off the road and crashed into a tree, killing all of them.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday issued a stunning ruling: It said a decades-old legal shield preventing platforms from lawsuits should not apply to Snapchat in a case involving a fatal car crash.