The Issue of the Liability of Platforms Amplifying Content Distribution Using Algorithms

Originally designed at the birth of the internet and still existing regulation of internet services offers the latter the possibility of immunity from liability in case of violation of the rights of third parties in the distribution of user-generated content ("safe harbor"). However, recently such services have begun to be an important element in the life of society (from an economic and social point of view, especially large platforms like YouTube, X (ex. Twitter), at the same time they have begun to play a more active role in bringing together the information producer and its target audience (matching function) due to recommendation technologies. Often, such information, even being lawful, can have the potential of a negative impact on vulnerable groups of population (for example, minors) and other persons. This potential can be realized in a situation where content in this category is actively offered to users of services through recommendations on the platform (for example, TidePod Challenge or other cases of misinformation). This situation is the subject of discussion about the need to impose stricter rules on platforms about their responsibility by changing the "safe harbor" rule. The work presents the analysis of the question of the expediency of changing the approach to regulating the responsibility of platforms which increasing dissemination of user-generated content via recommendation algorithms. The paper analyzes (1) the key characteristics of platforms that must be taken into account when designing their regulation, (2) the implementation of the "safe harbor" model in different jurisdictions (USA, EU, Russian Federation) and their shortcomings, (3) modern legislative, law enforcement and doctrinal tendencies towards regulation on the issue (USA, EU, Russia, China). It is concluded that it is inexpedient to change the "safe harbor" regulation, it is proposed to follow the European and Chinese tendencies of adopting legislative requirements for compliance of platforms with respect to their transparency, active cooperation with the regulator and other stakeholders according to the Digital Service Act or Chinese legislation models to resist the negative impact of content on the population.