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> The situation we're in now is bad, but needing a judge to sign off on every moderation action would be much, much worse.

I had not meant that every moderation action would need a judge, but that every person should have the legal right to appeal and plead their case in front of a judge instead of hitting stone walls.

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What the civil court system desperately needs: more lawsuits from people who got banned from web forums.

At least in Germany, you can file a c&d order ("Abmahnung") without ever having to see a court. Seeing a court is the escalation option in case the counter party does not react to your Abmahnung.

And besides: that access to legal protection is what taxes and court fees are paying for!

Making every moderation decision potentially liable to lawsuits is functionally no different than require a judge to sign off on every decision, since it creates the incentive for everyone to litigate every decision they disagree with, no matter how small.

But nothing social media platforms are doing is illegal. A judge is just going to tell you that you agreed to the platform's terms of service and they have the right, including Section 230 indemnity, to moderate content on their platform.

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