WASHINGTON – The US Supreme Court declined Thursday to intervene in a case against Google that could allow for more lawsuits against social media companies.
The ruling returns to a lower court in the case of the family of an American college student killed in an attack in Paris carried out by the Islamic State group. The family wants to sue Google over videos on YouTube that the family says recruited and inspired the group. Google owns YouTube.
Google says it is immune to that lawsuit because of a 1996 law that protects social networks from litigation over content posted by others. Lower courts agreed with Google.
Magistrates had agreed to discuss whether the law was too broad, but in arguments that continued in February, many of them expressed a reluctance to intervene now.
In an unsigned opinion on Thursday, the Supreme Court wrote that it would not rule on the law in question.
The result is, at least for now, a victory for the tech industry, which predicted internet chaos if Google lost. However, if a case arises later, the Supreme Court can still take up the matter.
The court also ruled on a separate lawsuit against Google, Twitter and Facebook, which was heard on the same day in February, that sought to hold them accountable for a terrorist attack on a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. were killed.
A trial court had approved the trial under a law against aiding terrorism.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the trial could not proceed.
