Justin Kim Speaks with Global Data Review about Section 230 of CDA’s Application to Generative AI

Orange County, Calif. (August 9, 2023) – Orange County Partner Justin S. Kim recently spoke with Global Data Review (GDR) for an article which discusses whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 would confer immunity against claims based on generative Artificial intelligence.

The article, titled "Generative AI’s section 230 legal immunity is unclear," provides an overview of whether the federal immunity statute would shield platforms which provide services based on newly emerging AI technology. Mr. Kim told GDR that plaintiffs would argue that Section 230 does not apply because materials generated by AI is not user content. “They are going to state this is the content of the developer platform,” he said. “As long as they're able to divorce that sufficiently from [the claim that] the alleged harmful content was third-party content, there might be grounds for a judge to let it through.”

Mr. Kim further explained that whether Section 230 protects generative AI has not yet been tested in the Courts and that such “uncharted territories” create litigation risks for companies using or developing the technology.

Mr. Kim is a partner in Lewis Brisbois' Orange County office. He works extensively in legal issues arising in cyberspace. He regularly advises technology companies with regard to liability issues involving news and social media. He also provides counsel to entities with a significant online presence as well as application developers regarding publication of original and third party content.

Read the full Global Data Review article here (subscription required).