The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments over Section 230, the law which absolves online publishers of liability for the content posted by users: "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." With it, critics think Big Tech is able to promote and profit from misinformation, harassment and abuse. Without it, though, Big Tech is the only thing that can afford the legal liability of publishing much of anything. Getting rid of (or substantially amending) Section 230 could set the online publishing pantheon in stone, if not end the Internet as we know it altogether.
… if the plaintiffs in these cases convince the Court to narrow the legal interpretation of Section 230 and increase platforms' legal exposure for generally knowing harmful material is present on their services, the significant protections that Congress envisioned in enacting this law would be drastically eroded. Many online intermediaries would intensively filter and censor user speech, others may simply not host user content at all, and new online forums may not even get off the ground.
Section 230 is On Trial. Here's What You Need to Know. [EFF]
