My Two Cents: When judges don’t know the basics in tech…what is an ISP?

What happens when judges don’t understand basic terms of technology?

In the Fifth Circuit, a Texas Federal Court Judge and Two Judges on the Federal Court of Appeals issued orders questioning whether Twitter was an internet service provider (“ISP”).  I was rather flummoxed by this pronouncement.  Twitter is a website that allows people to share and discuss thoughts in so many words or less.

An IPS, as defined by Wikipedia, is “is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privately owned.”  More importantly, “Internet services typically provided by ISPs can include Internet access, Internet transit, domain name registration, web hosting, Usenet service, and colocation.”  Examples of internet access providers include Verizon FIOS*, Cox Internet, and Spectrum.  They provide the pathway between your electronic device and websites like Twitter.  Twitter does not offer a website hosting platform like Hover*, GoDaddy, Wix, etc.  Their non-government “service” to exchange ideas does not host others’ websites or provide a means to access the worldwide internet.  So, I am at a loss of how the judges could confuse the two?  IMHO even if Twitter was an ISP, they could determine who can and cannot use their service as long as they do not discriminate per our laws – political ideology is not a protected basis for discrimination.  Neither is hate speech.

 The ABA Model Rules require attorneys, like those judges, to maintain a competency regarding technology. See TSL.P December 16, 2019, post – “Does your state's Bar Association require you to be proficient in technology? When a simple Google search can easily explain the difference between web services versus an ISP, I get a little worried about the competency of some judges.  (I’ll discuss First Amendment Rights as they are protected by our government from our government versus from a private company in a separate post).  Attorneys are going to wonder why they have to be “competent” in their use of technology when those who are held to higher standards don’t understand the basic principles of technology.

 MTC.