Episode 1: Introductions and Murphy v. Twitter
2021/03/01
In Episode 1, Amy and Jamie introduce ourselves, share our vision for the podcast, and discuss the recent California Court of Appeal opinion in Murphy v. Twitter affirming the dismissal of Murphy's suit as barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (the "CDA").
Murphy, an inveterate TERF, repeatedly ignored Twitter's Hateful Conduct Policy by demeaning and misgendering transgender women. After repeated warnings and temporary account suspensions, Twitter permanently suspended Murphy's account. Murphy sued. The Court noted that "under section 230, interactive computer service providers have broad immunity from liability for traditional editorial functions undertaken by publishers—such as decisions whether to publish, withdraw, postpone or alter content created by third parties." The Court concluded "Murphy’s suit is barred by the broad immunity conferred by the CDA," and affirmed the lower courts dismissal of her claims. See Murhpy v. Twitter, No. A158214 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan 22, 2021) available at https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A158214.PDF. Thus, Section 230 permits Twitter and other internet platform providers to police hateful, anti-trans content posted to their platforms.
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