On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Ben Sperry, a senior scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics, to explore the shifting landscape of social media litigation. We dive deep into recent court rulings in California and New Mexico that challenge the historical protections of Section 230 by focusing on product design rather than hosted content (see a recent piece by Ben, "Treating Speech as a Bug, Not a Feature," for more background). Among other things, we discuss:

Why the shift from content-based liability to product design claims might permanently dismantle the protections afforded by Section 230
How the threat of punitive damages may force platforms to implement aggressive age-gating and collateral censorship measures
Whether applying product liability standards to algorithmic recommendation features creates friction with First Amendment principles
Whether smaller tech entrants and startups can survive a legal environment defined by constant litigation and high compliance costs
What the recent jury verdicts against Meta and Google signal for the future of algorithmic curation across the broader internet ecosystem
When the focus on addictive design features like infinite scroll will begin to impact other services like streaming platforms
How generative AI and large language models will be categorized under speech laws if Section 230 remains inapplicable

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Season 7, Episode 12: Considering the future of Section 230 (with Ben Sperry)

Mobile Dev Memo Podcast