Letters to the Editor: Tech companies need to be held accountable when AI causes harm
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To the editor: It’s sad and infuriating to read how Big Tech companies continue to fight artificial intelligence safety guardrails against the wishes of victims’ parents (“AI chatbot safety bills under threat as Newsom ponders restrictions tech groups say would hurt California,” Sept. 28). These companies already evade liability for harms they cause by insisting they operate neutral platforms. It’s time to hold them accountable.
AI is a product, and it was working as designed in Adam Raine’s tragic death. In most industries, courts hold companies responsible when their products cause harm. When a car accelerates uncontrollably, we hold the manufacturer accountable. The tech industry — including AI companies — should be no different.
My law firm has already applied this product liability theory against tech companies. We shut down Omegle for its role in facilitating the sex trafficking of our child client. Omegle, like AI companies now, tried to hide behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that has been interpreted in court to give tech companies complete immunity from liability for harms they cause.
It’s not acceptable for Big Tech companies to skirt responsibility while parents like Matthew and Maria Raine bury their children. We must hold them to the same standards as any other product maker when their creations cause predictable harm.
Carrie Goldberg, Brooklyn
This writer is a victims’ rights attorney and the founder of the law firm C.A. Goldberg, PLLC.
