Mark Zuckerberg found himself smack-dab in the middle of some awkward moments at today’s hearing, but it seems pretty safe to say that none were quite as awkward as this one:
"I agree that we're responsible for the content."
— David A. Graham (@GrahamDavidA) April 10, 2018
Watch:
#Zuckerberg Admits, 'We're Responsible For The Content.'
He May Have Just Bankrupted His Own Company: https://t.co/iKsxoVZloJpic.twitter.com/2VhyOWeptK
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 10, 2018
At the Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro writes:
Zuckerberg may have just opened himself up to a world of legal hurt. Platforms are generally not held legally responsible for the content posted on those platforms – so liability issues ranging from copyright violation to slander aren’t serious concerns for platforms. You can’t sue AT&T if somebody slanders you on a telephone call carried by their satellites. But that’s not the case with publishers. Publishers are responsible for the content that is added to their platforms. The Daily Wire bears legal liability for the content that goes up at The Daily Wire.
If the same were held to be true for Facebook, the company would immediately become subject to hundreds of millions of dollars in legal liability. For example, copyright violation bears a statutory penalty of between $750 and $30,000 per violation. How many unlicensed photos are posted on Facebook daily? On a minute-by-minute basis? Now, instead of a photo journalist suing the person who posted the photo, the photo journalist could sue Facebook itself. And Facebook’s pockets are a lot deeper.
That could definitely be a problem.
Congratulations, Zuckerberg. You’re now a publisher and not a platform, and subject to legal liability that attaches. Good luck. https://t.co/QVre5Z2WrJ
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 10, 2018
He’s gonna need it.
Oh boy…
— Matthew (@t1_matthew) April 10, 2018
Y I K E S.
— Chris Butler (@chris123butler) April 10, 2018
Yes. This was a mistake. Perhaps an incredibly significant one for future regulatory discussions. https://t.co/Irr9m0wsXz
— Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) April 10, 2018
Big mistake, #Zuck
— Husky Unit (@husky_unit) April 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/BobbyHampshire2/status/983803963412746240
Sirens just went off in the FB legal offices. https://t.co/JK6PCS8qhy
— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) April 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/LDoren/status/983801114217852928
Facebook's lawyers just had a collective aneurysm
— ROCK HAMBERDERS (@RokThunderpunch) April 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/DonnyFerguson/status/983832536647458817
@GrahamDavidA
Marks done Zucked up— McItsANiceDay (@JeremyYeg) April 10, 2018
Stay tuned!
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