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(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 08, 2013 ) San Diego, CA -- In 2010, three Google executives were found guilty of criminal privacy violations after a user posted a video to YouTube depicting an autistic boy being bullied. While these convictions were later overturned, the message was clear: running an Internet company in Europe that deals with user-generated content (UGC) has risks.
In the United States, charges like these seem ludicrous. Prosecutions of this nature couldnÂ’t happen in the US, right?
Think twice. Such criminal prosecutions could become real risks if the State Attorneys General (AGs) have their way.
To give some context, in 1996 Congress enacted 47 U.S.C. 230 (Section 230) stating that websites cannot be held liable for third party content or UGC, even if takedown notices are ignored or if the UGC is edited by the website.
Section 230 is globally unique as no other country has laws as protective of operators of UGC websites. It also preempts any state law that potentially holds these types of websites liable. As a result, the United States has a competitive advantage concerning the social benefits of these sites and the ability to launch and operate UGC websites.
However, the law does have some restrictions. It does not apply when there have been violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act or to those involving federal criminal prosecutions or intellectual property.
After a gathering of the National Association of AttorneysÂ’ General recently, it was found that some state AGs are in the process of drafting a letter to Congress asking that state criminal prosecutions be excluded from Section 230. There would be very little actual change to the law (an additional two words), but there would be profound consequences.
As a result of the proposed amendment, state attorneys general would be able to prosecute Internet companies and their leadership for violating state criminal law concerning online publication of third party content.
State AGs have been trying for years to shut down prostitution ads to little or no avail. This amendment would give them sweeping powers to prosecute sites who sponsor these ads. However, this is push back - and rightfully so.
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Source: EmailWire.com
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