Communications Decency Act Section 230 (CDA 230) provides broad immunity for intermediaries. It provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider, and that intermediaries shall not be liable on account of efforts to monitor or enforce policies against inappropriate or unlawful user-generated content. It immunizes platforms for nearly all claims except for those under federal criminal law and intellectual property law. This 1996 law, long a pillar of US Internet legal practice, was amended for the first time since its enactment in 2018. The new law, FOSTA, expands intermediary liability for claims involving sex trafficking and prostitution. CDA 230 cases arise too frequently to be captured...
Universal brought an action against Sony alleging that video tape recorder (VTRs) consumers had been recording some of Universal’s copyrighted works that had been exhibited on commercially sponsored television and thereby infringed on their copyrights, and further that Sony was liable for such copyright infringement because of their marketing of the VTRs. The Supreme Court held that "the sale of the VTR's to the general public does not constitute contributory infringement of Universal's copyrights." The Court concluded that there was a significant likelihood that a substantial number of copyright holders who license their works for free public broadcasts would not object to having their broadcasts time-shifted by private viewers and that Universal failed to show that time-shifting would cause non-minimal harm to the...
ANC, 2017. Ley constitucional contra el odio, por la convivencia pacífica y la tolerancia, Official Gazette No.41.271
On November 8, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) promulgated the Constitutional Law Against Hatred, for Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence which establishes prison sentences of between ten to twenty years for those who incite hatred or violence through any electronic means, including social networks (article 20). The Law also establishes that intermediaries that do not remove within 6 hours from its dissemination (article 22) the messages containing war propaganda or promoting different kinds of hate speech - national, racial, religious, political or hate speech of any other kind ("mensajes que constituyan propaganda a favor de la guerra o apología del odio nacional, racial, religioso, político o de cualquier otra naturaleza") - shall be subject to sanctions ranging from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand Tax...
The National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) ordered the blocking of Infobae website which operates in Argentina, arguing the dissemination of images of deputy Robert Serra who was murdered on October the 1st. The information was released through Conatel president, William Castillo: "Following instructions, due to serious violations of the laws of Venezuela, Conatel has ordered the blocking of the Infobae portal". The official did not specify what law and/or articles were violated nor if any legal proceedings would follow, but since his statement the site is inaccessible from Venezuela.
In March 2014, Conatel demanded that the ISPs block websites that illegally trade wildlife, basing this demand on a decision made by a court in Caracas. In spite of the queries made by some organizations and individuals, obtaining reliable information about this procedure has been not possible. The affected ISPs did not make any public statements.
Conatel opened administrative procedures against 8 ISPs. Those ISPs hosted information portals where the cost of the black market dollar was published (Venezuela has a foreign currency exchange control policy and this is forbidden by a special law). In spite of the queries made by some organizations and individuals, obtaining reliable information about this procedure has been not possible. The affected ISPs did not make any public statements.