
Supreme Court declines to review scope of Section 230 liability shield for internet companies
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a dispute that called for an examination of the scope of a federal law known as Section 230 that provides a powerful legal shield for internet companies and has faced growing scrutiny in recent years.
Enacted in 1996, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes companies from civil liability stemming from content posted to their sites by third parties. Defenders of the measure have said it has allowed the internet to flourish and paved the way for online innovation. But critics have said Section 230 has been interpreted too broadly to allow social media platforms and other sites to escape accountability, and some of the justices themselves have urged the Supreme Court to address lower courts' interpretation of the law.
The court did consider the scope of Section 230 for the first time last year, in a case that involved whether the law's protections extended to a site's targeted recommendations for users. The justices, though, sidestepped a ruling in the case involving Google that could've limited the legal shield.

Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, Texas, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s, the Oklahoma attorney general's office announced Wednesday. We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.