Botnet Extortion and Disparagement and Section 230: Do Businesses Have Any Recourse?

Expired

Program Number

3037

Program Date

2020-01-28

CLE Credits

Cybercriminals have presented targeted businesses with a frightening choice: pay up or have Botnets post thousands of negative reviews in a matter of minutes. Botnets, which are groups of computers controlled by a single person, have also famously flooded social media platforms with disparaging posts about politicians and political parties in the days before recent elections in the United States and other industrialized countries. Businesses, politicians, and other victims of Botnet-mediated disparagement seeking damages face a daunting obstacle in the form of Section 230, the controversial federal statute that immunizes computer service providers from liability for content provided by another person or entity. This program will examine the legal arguments regarding whether or not Botnet-mediated disparagement is subject to Section 230-a question which courts have yet to address. This program will also examine the intensifying debate in Congress regarding both the Botnet epidemic and Section 230 and how it could impact litigation by victims of Botnet-mediated disparagement.