Techgrasp Technology

Here are some more information for Speech Generating:

Liability And User Generated Content

Social media platforms and applications are dependent upon communal participation.  Members of the community share everything from names, professions and scholastic and corporate affiliations to names and photos of family and friends as well as up-to-the-minute updates on current events.  Little is too personal on social media, and the greater the extent of the sharing the greater the personal reward for all involved.

As in the non-Internet world, people often do and say things that are not always appropriate - whether intentional or not.  Examples include a personal opinion, a piece of confidential information about oneself, one's company or an acquaintance.  Such communication can take the form of a written comment, photos, videos or other form of communication.  The result of these communications can result in claims of defamation, incorrect statements of fact, harassment, etc. 

Unfortunately for social media operators, those adversely affected and their representatives tend to include social media operators on the short list of culpable parties typically based upon some form of contributory negligence.  Fortunately for social media operators operating in the U.S., there exists some form of protection to the extent that certain procedures are maintained.

COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 is a landmark piece of Internet legislation.  Section 230(c)(1) of the CDA provides immunity from liability to providers and users of an "interactive computer service" that publishes information provided by others (e.g., user-generated content).  Courts generally apply the following three-prong test to determine whether a defendant is subject to the protections afforded by Section 230. 

1. The defendant must be a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service;"
2. The cause of action asserted by the plaintiff must treat the defendant as a "publisher or speaker" of the harmful information at issue; and,
3. The information must be "provided by another information content provider," (i.e., the defendant must not be the information content provider of the harmful information at issue).

This section of the CDA was enacted to enhance free speech by making it unnecessary for Internet service providers and other service providers to unduly restrict customers' actions for fear of being found legally liable for customers' conduct.  This law effectively protects social media operators since it covers computer services that involve user-generated content  

As a result of its effective protections, Section 230 is considered quite controversial because courts have interpreted Section 230 as providing complete immunity to Internet service providers and other service providers with regard to torts committed by their users.  Critics of Section 230 are primarily concerned with its effectiveness at leaving victims with no hope of relief in instances where the true tortfeasors cannot be identified or are judgment proof. 

Courts have upheld Section 230 in a variety of factual contexts and on numerous legal theories, including posting of:

• Defamatory information;
• Opinions;
• Private information;
• False information;
• Pornographic information;
• Harassing commentary; and,
• Discriminatory and/or illegal advertising.

Section 230, however, is not absolute protection.  For example, plaintiffs have successfully argued in a handful of cases that an "interactive computer service" was not entitled to Section 230 immunity because the person or entity in question was an "information content provider" with respect to the information at issue, thereby failing the third test noted above.  Notwithstanding certain plaintiff successes, generally the social media operator is protected against liability for postings made by others so long as the operator does not contribute in whole or in part, in the creation or development of the content and provides a mechanism for detecting objectionable content.

As such, in order for social media operators to obtain the maximum protection under Section 230 of the CDA, the operator should strictly adhere to the following:

• Do not alter any contribution of user-generated content.  To the extent that user-generated content is repackaged - no matter how insignificantly, the social media operator potentially voids one of the three tests and risks exposure.  Competent legal counsel should opine on the risk to the social media operator to the extent that any user-generated content is repackaged or reformatted.

• Maintain the ability for users to alert the operator of questionable content.  Users should at all times be provided with the ability to report user-generated content that violates the terms of use or is generally considered offensive or specifically offensive.  Additionally, users should be provided with the ability to promptly delete user-generated content that is directly posted to their profiles or personal space within the social media platform.

• Maintain formal policies and procedures for addressing complaints of questionable content.  The policies should include both external terms of use policies and internal policies and procedures for the timely management of complaints.  Periodic audits and compliance with recommended corrective actions should be performed and well documented to serve as support in the event of legal action.

• The Terms of Use should explicitly state that the user is fully responsible and liable for any legal action attributed to their user generated content and the TOU should include indemnification language that contractually indemnifies the social media operator as a result of user-generated content.  Any subsequent changes to the TOU should require the user to accept the changes prior to permitting the user access to the social media platform.

About the Author

Jesse Torres is President and Chief Operating Officer of Security Savings Bank in Henderson, Nevada. He is a regular speaker at banking industry conferences and seminars, he serves on the West Coast Anti-Money Laundering Forum and is a former Chairman of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining Security Savings Bank, he was a regulator with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a Senior Consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick and a senior officer at several banks in the Los Angeles area. He is a graduate of UCLA and the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. Jesse can be reached by e-mail at MrJesseTorres@gmail.com. He can also be found on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jessetorres and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jstorres.

MUSLIMS, WHAT U THINK OF THlS MULLAH'S SPEECH?

"You know like I do what lies behind this religion (Islam), after all this crime carried out against Iranians. lets do one good thing and tell the people what is behind this religion. Lets tell everyone that this religion is neither "martyr generating", nor pro-science nor pro the people. You rightly regard yourself, the supreme leader and your Guardian Council as the elite, and the "martyr generating" nation of Iran are the plebs. Now for the sake of God tell the truth to the people that there is nothing in this religion but stupidity and ignorance, other than silly laws about what is considered clean and what is untouchable, what is allowed and what is not allowed…” - BY Mullah Hadi Ma'ssumi.

Islam is not the truth. Thats my opinion.

Jewish Shop Owner Offers Holocaust Soap
A Jewish shop owner is generating controversy for trying to sell a bar of soap allegedly made from the remains of Holocaust victims.

Thanks for visiting!