For more than two decades, Section 230 has provided online platforms with significant protection from liability for third-party content, helping fuel the growth of the internet and social media. As platforms evolved, however, companies increasingly relied on algorithms, product design, autoplay, and other features designed to maximize user engagement.

This CLE program examines the growing legal challenges to the scope of Section 230 immunity, particularly claims that social media platforms’ own design and business practices contribute to harm suffered by children and young adults. The discussion will explore recent litigation involving social media companies, evolving judicial approaches to Section 230, and the arguments being raised by plaintiffs seeking to hold platforms accountable for alleged physical and mental health harms.

With thousands of cases pending and significant questions about the limits of Section 230 still unresolved, the program will consider where this developing area of law may be headed—including the possibility of eventual Supreme Court review. Will Section 230 continue to shield social media platforms, or are the foundations of that protection beginning to crack?