The Law of Deplatforming
An interview with Prof. Eric Goldman
Social media platforms have become integral to the way we not only interact with friends, but also, how we connect with businesses, schools, and political candidates. So, with so much social, political, and economic activity happening on social platforms, what rights, if any, do individuals have to access particular social media platforms. In this interview, we discuss "deplatforming" and individual rights with Professor Eric Goldman.
Prof. Goldman shares results from his study of civil cases and breaks down the legal arguments that plaintiffs, banned from social media, have made against the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Generally, courts have widely rejected plaintiff claims that range from First Amendment free speech arguments, to common carrier obligations, to anti-discrimination, to breach of contract claims. Professor Goldman explores and evaluates deplatforming lawsuits under each type of claim and how courts have responded. Finally, Goldman goes to the cutting edge of internet law and evaluates controversial new state laws that attempt to impose obligations on internet companies such as “must-carry” and “digital due process” requirements and shares insights on how appellate courts are treating such laws to date.
About Prof. Eric Goldman
“One of the risks is that copyright laws are actually proliferating the differences in emojis in a way that ultimately might make it harder for us to communicate with each other.”
Eric Goldman is a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and teaches on Internet, IP, and advertising law. He serves as the co-director of the High Tech Law Institute and supervises the Privacy Law Certificate. Prior to joining the Santa Clara Law faculty in 2006, he was an assistant professor at Marquette University Law School. Before academia, he practiced law in Silicon Valley for eight years as General Counsel of Epinions.com and an Internet and technology transactions attorney at Cooley Godward LLP. Goldman has been published in a number of law journals and other scholarly publications. He is frequently quoted in the media as an expert on Internet law. His blog “Technology & Marketing Law Blog” has been inducted into the ABA Journal’s “Blawg Hall of Fame.” The California State Bar’s IP Section has named him an “IP Vanguard,” and Managing IP magazine twice named him to a shortlist of “IP Thought Leaders” in North America.
