Law of Digitality: Media Law-U.S. Perspectives

Abstract

This outline provides an overview of how U.S. media law is adapting to digital platforms with a view to extraterritorial effects. Since the largest digital platforms are U.S. companies engaged in self-regulation and private ordering of media flows, those private activities have more extraterritorial effect than any public law effort. I will put those to the side and focus only on public law. For the most part, the public law developments are still inchoate. Some states have adopted laws concerning political advertising and deceptive speech. Congress is considering adopting similar ones at the federal level. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides platforms with immunity for online speech in most cases, has been scaled back with respect to particular kinds of speech. More contraction is possible.