Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Online Content Moderation

Yesterday in Berlin, I attended a workshop on the use of artificial intelligence in governing communication online, hosted by the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. Section 230 of the CDA provides broad immunity to platforms, with the express goals of promoting economic development and free expression. Daphne Keller has a good summary of the legal landscape on intermediary liability. Platforms are now facing increasing pressure to detect and remove illegal (and, in some cases, legal-but-objectionable) content. In the United States, for example, bills in the House and Senate would remove safe harbor protection for platforms that do not remove illegal content related to sex trafficking.