Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-411_3dq3.pdf
Page Number: 60

26 

MURTHY v. MISSOURI 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

also floated the idea of amending or repealing §230 of the 
Communications  Decency  Act.    See,  e.g.,  B.  Klein,  White 
House Reviewing Section 230 Amid Efforts To Push Social 
Media  Giants  To  Crack  Down  on  Misinformation,  CNN 
(July  20,  2021) 20;  R.  Kern,  White  House  Renews  Call  To 
‘Remove’  Section  230  Liability  Shield,  Politico  (Sept.  8, 
2022).21 

Previous  administrations  have  also  wielded  significant 
power over Facebook.  In a data-privacy case brought jointly 
by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Com-
mission, Facebook was required “to pay an unprecedented 
$5  billion  civil  penalty,”  which  is  “among  the  largest  civil 
penalties ever obtained by the federal government.” Press
Release, Dept. of Justice, Facebook Agrees To Pay $5 Bil-
lion and Implement Robust New Protections of User Infor-
mation  in  Settlement  of  Data-Privacy  Claims  (July  24,
2019).22 

A  matter  that  may  well  have  been  prominent  in  Face-
book’s thinking during the period in question in this case
was a dispute between the United States and the European 
Union over international data transfers.  In 2020, the Court 
of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  invalidated  the  mecha-
nism  for  transferring  data  between  the  European  Union
and United States because it did not sufficiently protect EU
citizens from Federal Government surveillance.  Data Pro-
tection Comm’r v. Facebook Ireland Limited, Case C–311/18 
(2020).  The  EU-U. S.  conflict  over  data  privacy  hindered
Facebook’s  international  operations,  but  Facebook  could 

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economy. 

20 https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/politics/white-house-section-230-

facebook/index.html. 

21 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/08/white-house-renews-call-

to-remove-section-230-liability-shield-00055771. 

22 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/facebook-agrees-pay-5-billion-and-

implement-robust-new-protections-user-information.