U.S. Supreme Court to Scrutinize Federal Protection for Social Media Companies Like Alphabet

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to an appeal to scrutinize the federal protections granted to the Internet and social media companies in the case of the shooting of an American student, Reuters reported.

This case involved an appeal by the parents and relatives of an American student, Nohemi Gonzalez, against a lower court ruling which had ruled out any wrongdoing by YouTube, owned by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), in an incident that sought monetary damages under a U.S. anti-terrorism law. 

According to the report, Nohemi Gonzalez was studying in Paris, France, and was shot in a 2015 terrorist attack by the Islamic State militant group in Paris.

The lawsuit had accused Google of supporting terrorism and, in turn violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. This lawsuit alleged that YouTube, through its algorithms had recommended videos by the Islamic State militant group to certain users.

The U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act allows American citizens to seek damages related to “an act of international terrorism.”

Reuters also stated that the Supreme Court agreed to “hear a separate appeal by Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) of the lower court’s decision to revive a similar lawsuit against that company, though not on the basis of Section 230.”

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