The Gray Area with Sean Illing The one thing the Supreme Court won’t touch
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Apr 24, 2026 
Ian Millhiser, a Vox senior correspondent covering the Supreme Court and the law, explores why the justices boldly reshape public life but tread lightly online. He gets into a music piracy fight, who should be blamed for what happens on the internet, platform liability, social media design, children’s rights, and the political twists behind free speech battles.
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Why This Activist Court Hesitates On The Internet
- Ian Millhiser argues this Supreme Court is activist on schools, agencies, and civil rights but unusually timid about the internet.
- Elena Kagan’s line about not being internet experts captures a rare judicial fear of breaking a system they barely understand.
The Piracy Case That Could Have Cut Off Hospitals
- Cox v. Sony asked whether an ISP should face crushing liability for not cutting off users accused of piracy quickly enough.
- Ian Millhiser says the Court rejected a billion-dollar verdict because one downloader on a shared IP could have knocked a hospital or dorm offline.
Why The Court Rejected Terrorism Liability For Platforms
- In Twitter v. Taamneh, families of ISIS victims argued platforms aided terrorism by letting ISIS use their services.
- Ian Millhiser says the Court unanimously refused that chain of liability, comparing it to blaming Ford if a murderer used a truck.