Ambrose McCall Discusses Legal Issues Arising out of Social Media Platforms Removing or Flagging Content on Their Sites

Hinshaw's Ambrose McCall appeared on the radio station WMBD's "Week in Review" program to discuss recent actions by social media platforms to flag posts as false or misleading, and attending free speech concerns.

As McCall notes in the segment, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, permits social media companies to take those actions. Section 230 also gives these companies, as private entities, broad leeway to do so. But, McCall speculates that some social media companies have recently taken increasing efforts to flag or remove content because they sense that the federal government is getting to the point where it may take actions affecting their rights and immunities. McCall speculates that given many American social media companies' enormous size, economic heft, and global scope, should Congress decide to revisit Section 230, it will have to engage in a delicate balancing act of allowing the companies to police their content while allowing for aggrieved users clear and effective means to contest actions taken against them.

Listen to the full segment

This episode of the "Week in Review" on 1470 WMBD was originally recorded on November 15, 2020.