i m anderson cooper. you may have heard the u.s. surgeon general issued a warning that social media carries what he called a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescence. it s something all of us who are parents are worried about. because of a law passed in the mid-1990s, social media companies are shielded from almost all responsibility for the content their users post, no matter how untrue or harmful it may be. but now with billions of people online, the question is, have things spiraled out of control? we spoke with three families who are taking on some of the biggest social media companies in an uphill legal battle in an effort to change the way the internet works. some of the topics in the next hour including eating disorders and suicide and can be disturbing to watch. good morning. are you getting on, mom? yeah, let s get on. reporter: a tour bus through washington in spring is typically full of kids. oh, my. reporter
human behind the humor. thanks for joining us for the whole story. i m anderson cooper. you may have heard the u.s. surgeon general issued a warning that social media carries what he called a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescence. it s something all of us who are parents are worried about. because of a law passed in the mid-1990s, social media companies are shielded from almost all responsibility for the content their users post, no matter how untrue or harmful it may be. but now with billions of people online, the question is, have things spiraled out of control? especially when it comes to kids. we spoke with three families who are taking on some of the biggest social media companies in an uphill legal battle in an effort to change the way the internet works. we want to mention some of the topics in the next hour including eating disorders and suicide and can be disturbing to watch. good morning. are you getting on, mo
companies. let s all of us line up reporter: this attorney hired line holders so his clients could get inside to hear the arguments. tammy has been a hero. reporter: at issue, a 27-year-old law called section 230. it dates from a time when tech or the internet was nascent, vulnerable to action that could block it, shut it down entirely. reporter: courts have held that section 230 shields internet companies from most of the responsibility for what users post on their sites. section 230 is a virtually complete shield of legal immunity that says you can t take action against a big tech company under almost all circumstances. reporter: the case was gonzalez v. google. the family of a young woman killed in the 2015 terrorist attack in paris alleges that google designed an algorithm
there s the court. we re walking down let s see second and east capital. reporter: in february, the supreme court heard a case that would have a big impact on the fight being waged by people like see ceecee and candace and the people against the big social media companies. let s all of us line up reporter: this attorney hired line holders so his clients could get inside to hear the arguments. tammy has been a hero. reporter: at issue, a 27-year-old law called section 230. it dates from a time when tech or the internet was nascent, vulnerable to action that could block it, shut it down entirely. reporter: courts have held that section 230 shields internet companies from most of the responsibility for what users post on their sites. section 230 is a virtually complete shield of legal