Eroding exceptionalism: Internet firms’ legal immunity is under threat

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Regulators and courts in America and Europe are chipping away at the legal immunity of internet firms




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Eroding exceptionalism




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Internet regulation








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Donald Trump seeks a grand bargain with Vladimir Putin




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Eroding exceptionalism






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GOOGLE, Facebook and other online giants like to see their rapid rise as the product of their founders’ brilliance. Others argue that their success is more a result of lucky timing and network effects—the economic forces that tend to make bigger firms even bigger. Often forgotten is a third reason for their triumph: in America and, to some extent, in Europe, online platforms have been inhabiting a parallel legal universe. Broadly speaking, they are not legally responsible, either for what ...