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- Title
VIRAL VIOLENCE AND VICARIOUS RESPONSIBILITY: HOLDING INTERMEDIARIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR ONLINE HARM.
- Authors
DUGGINS, OLIVIA
- Abstract
Gory depictions of real-life violence and crimes are not confined to the dark corners of the Internet. They appear in everyday social media feeds, regularly surfacing between posts about the latest celebrity updates, political commentary, animal videos, and DIY home improvement tips. The increasing trend of users posting or livestreaming heinous and unthinkable acts online can trigger emotional distress in viewers, particularly victims’ families. Violent content spreads like virtual wildfire once it inevitably reaches virality and appears on consumers’ feeds with little to no warning, and no recourse. The current legal framework, primarily governed by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields social media platforms from liability while they profit from the viral dissemination of violent content. This Note delves into the intersection of online harm, social media platforms, and the legal challenges faced by victims in the United States seeking redress for this cyber-tort. Unlike traditional intentional infliction of emotional distress cases, victims in the online realm face practical barriers in pursuing monetary damages against content creators, and CDA 230 prevents a cause of action against the intermediary. The United States lags far behind global efforts, led by the European Union, Germany, and Australia to hold intermediaries accountable through legislative measures. This Note calls for U.S. legal reform with intermediary accountability at the forefront and offers an alternative approach to provide victims with avenues for redress in cases of cyber IIED. This pioneering exploration extends the traditional IIED framework to encompass violent online content and emphasizes the urgent need for legal reform to address the evolving landscape of cyber-torts.
- Subjects
UNITED States; VIOLENCE; CRIME; INTERNET; SOCIAL media; COMMUNICATIONS Decency Act, 1996 (United States)
- Publication
University of Illinois Law Review, 2024, Vol 2024, Issue 4, p1391
- ISSN
0276-9948
- Publication type
Article