Potential Law Change Could Affect Social Media, Professor Says

A law that protects websites no matter what users post on them could be changed by the Supreme Court. University of Hartford Professor Adam Chiara discussed what that might mean for social media companies and users in an interview with WCCB, a TV station in North Carolina.

Chiara, an applied associate professor of communication at UHart’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the question comes down to whether or not the websites and platforms are content providers or content publishers. Though external users post the content, website algorithms recommend the content in newsfeeds, which could raise the companies to the level of the publisher. 

If the law were to change and label them as publishers, website companies could be exposed to lawsuits, Chiara explained. 

While social media websites already block some content, such a change could prompt them to overcorrect and block a significant amount.