“… This Comment seeks to analyze the relationship between Section 230 of the CDA and online third-party marketplaces (with an emphasis on market leader Amazon Marketplace). Within the rapidly changing world of e-commerce, this Comment will explore interplay between Section 230 and the online marketplace, and the ways that product liability claims are circumventing this affirmative protection. It will then propose changes to the online marketplace model, including a proportional due diligence requirement facilitated and enforced by an independent licensing board, and contractual and structural changes to the fulfillment model used by Amazon Marketplace and other similar sellers.
“Part I will introduce the major players involved: Section 230 and how early case law helped shape the online marketplace model; Amazon Marketplace’s third-party vendor business model, with attention paid to their program policies, and issues that have arisen from them; and an examination of three recent cases, Oberdorf, State Farm Fire, and Fox, discussing how plaintiffs circumvent the affirmative Section 230 defense.”
Christopher Boyd, One Click Liability: Section 230 and the Online Marketplace, 70 DePaul Law Review 597 (2022).
First posted 2022-01-31 19:00:58
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