The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has been asked to decide whether TikTok’s “highly personalized” algorithm that feeds videos to users is considered first-party speech not immune from civil liability by Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act.
During oral arguments Wednesday, a mother whose 10-year-old daughter died attempting a viral stunt on TikTok argued to a panel of judges that her claims against the platform should go forward despite Section 230’s protections for online publishers based on third-party content. Her lawyer argued that TikTok’s algorithm, which curates videos for users’ “For You Page,” is so personalized that it is the company’s own speech and doesn’t fall under the statute.
