Will the Supreme Court ruin the internet?

Explain It to Me

Vox Media Podcast Network

Education, Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 7.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Tuesday, February 21, the Supreme Court will hear two cases that could dramatically change the way we use the internet. The cases are against two tech giants, Google and Twitter. More specifically, it hits their algorithms. The big question is: can these companies be held responsible for crimes like terrorism because of how their algorithms prioritize content? Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser explains. References: The Supreme Court hears two cases that could ruin the internet Host: Jonquilyn Hill Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer Cristian Ayala, engineer A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm John Falen Hill and this is the weeds.
0:08.8	So the other week I was at the Vox offices in DC and I ran into my colleague Ian Mill
0:14.4	Heiser.
0:15.4	He covers the Supreme Court and Democracy and he's also a lawyer.
0:20.5	As we were shooting the breeze catching up, we got to talking about the upcoming cases
0:24.5	the court would be hearing.
0:25.9	He says on voting rights, affirmative action, and then Ian told me about a case that's
0:32.1	just as consequential but isn't getting the same amount of attention.
0:37.0	Gonzalez v. Google.
0:39.5	The case is about the power of algorithms.
0:42.6	It's about whether companies like Google or Twitter can be held responsible for crimes
0:46.6	like terrorism.
0:48.1	If one of their algorithms shows you a terrorist recruitment video or a tweet from ISIS,
0:54.1	oral arguments for the case are today.
0:56.1	Tuesday, February 21st.
0:59.2	No matter what happens during arguments, Scotus will rule on it this summer and if they
1:04.8	rule against Google, it could change the way we use the internet forever.
1:12.1	So I asked Ian to sit down with me ahead of oral arguments so he could walk us through
1:17.1	everything we need to know about the case.
1:21.1	Hello, hi Ian.
1:30.7	How's it going?
1:31.7	Good.
	...

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