Keith Altman of the Law Office of Keith Altman along with several other attorneys argued a landmark case before the supreme court in Gonzalez vs Google LLC
Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old student at California State University, Long Beach, died in an Islamic State terrorist attack committed at La Belle Equipe bistro while studying abroad in Paris, France. K Altman Law represents Nohemi’s relatives in a civil lawsuit filed against Google LLC, the owner of YouTube. The family alleges that YouTube assisted the Islamic State by hosting terrorism recruitment content on YouTube.
In October, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a writ of certiorari to hear Gonzalez v. Google LLC in the court’s upcoming term. The case focuses on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. The provision has protected social media platforms from liability regarding content hosted by third parties. In deciding Gonzalez vs Google LLC, the court will determine if the protections of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act are too broad, and whether those protections should be narrowed.
The Gonzalez vs Google LLC case may potentially alter how social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube provide content to millions of users. K Altman Law, in representing the Gonzalez family, argues that YouTube is liable because its algorithms recommended terrorism recruitment videos to users and thus expanded the reach of the Islamic State.
The court must decide whether Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act provides immunity to social media companies for recommendations generated by algorithms, or if the immunity only applies to editorial decisions made by the companies.
K Altman Law is proud to represent the Gonzalez family and work toward making the internet a space where terrorist organizations cannot recruit members or achieve their goals by using social media platforms.