Google warns SCOTUS against slashing big tech liability protections

A filing from Google has warned the Supreme Court against "gutting" a liability shield for big tech companies as part of an ongoing suit against YouTube over allegations that the video sharing platform facilitated the spread of terrorist content.

Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, died in a 2015 Islamic terror attack in France. Her family is suing YouTube, which Google owns, alleging that the company recommended content inciting violence through its algorithm, according to The Hill.

The case centers around Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects companies from liability for third party content. That provision has long been a focal point for critics of big tech firms, who have sought to end that liability shield, especially amid right-wing criticism of big tech content moderation practices.

The filing from Google warns the court that "Gutting Section 230… would upend the internet and perversely encourage both wide-ranging suppression of speech and the proliferation of more offensive speech," per the outlet.

The company further argues that ending the liability shield could potentially result in lopsided content moderation, with platforms opting to remove any content that individuals found objectionable or take the opposite approach and permit virtually anything.

The Department of Justice has also cautioned the high court against making a sweeping revision to Section 230, The Hill noted.