Eric Goldman was interviewed by NPR on a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Snapchat can be sued over a fatal car crash when 3 teens who were using the app crashed; by Yahoo News on the decision by Facebook to continue the network’s ban on Trump by at least 6 more months; by SF Weekly about online privacy rights; by KQED’s Morning Edition about a 1995 cyberattack on Ken Zeran where the attacker has never been identified; by CQ Press about reining in big tech (subscription required to read); by Modern Retail on a recent court ruling that held Amazon liable for a defective product sold by a third-party seller; and by the Kansas City Star about Senator Josh Hawley’s new book where he discussed Section 230. Professor Goldman was also quoted by the Washington Post in two articles about a new Florida law that bars social media companies from blocking political candidates; and also was interviewed by WBAL-AM about the Florida law.
Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University Law School in California, described the (Florida) bill as bad policy and warned that some of its provisions are “obviously unconstitutional” because they restrict the editorial discretion of online publishers. He said some aspects of the law also would be preempted by a federal Internet law known as Section 230 that shields Internet companies from lawsuits over posts, photos and other content shared on their services.
“I see this bill as purely performative; it was never designed to be law but simply to send a message to voters,” Goldman said in an interview.
