Is Facebook Just a Platform? A Lawyer to the Stars Says No

Since the early years of the internet boom, American and European rules and regulations have deemed social media companies to be neutral “platforms” or “hosts,” and thus immune from the liabilities faced by traditional publishers. But a series of scandals over their content has put the companies under a new assault — and the broad question of whether they should be seen as publishers rather than agnostic platforms has sweeping legal ramifications. 

“I say to Facebook, ‘What is the difference between you and a national newspaper being responsible for the letters they publish on their letters page? Why do you have to be treated differently?” said Paul Tweed who made his name suing news organizations like CNN, Forbes and The National Enquirer on behalf of Hollywood movie stars. “Facebook can’t say, ‘We are not a publisher; we are just a platform.’ I have been hearing that from them for years, and I never believed it.”

“We are going to look back at the mid-2010s as the high-water mark of free speech online, and it is only downhill from here,” said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University.