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Business reflection: Crossed Wires: The social media industry finally got bludgeoned in court

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For roughly three decades, America’s social media industry has operated behind one of the most extraordinary legal force fields ever granted to any industry. It is called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996. In plain English, it says that if somebody else posts the words, the platform usually cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of those words. In statute-speak: ...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights a pivotal shift in legal strategy against social media giants. For decades, Section 230 has acted as an impenetrable shield, but these cases demonstrate that targeting platform design—rather than user content—could bypass that immunity. The comparison to Big Tobacco is compelling: both industries engineered addictive delivery systems while downplaying harms. The plaintiffs’ focus on features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations r...