Section 230 History

Section 230 of the act was designed to promote the continued use and expansion of the internet while also protecting users notably children and schools from objectionable or inappropriate online material and behavior such as stalking.

Section 230 history. Section 230 of the act was designed to promote the continued use and expansion of the internet while also protecting users notably children and schools from objectionable or inappropriate. Section 230 of the communications decency act of 1996 helped create today s internet giants. The goal of section 230 is to enable internet and tech companies to develop without fear of legal liability content published to their websites by internet users. But it has had an outsize affect on life as we know it.

It runs only 26 words long short and to the point. Section 230 as it s commonly known provides interactive computer services that is anything from web hosts to websites to social media companies with broad immunity from civil cases. That s one reason why ericgoldman and i have created an archive of case documents from some of the landmark 230 cases. Twenty six words is a nuanced and engaging look at the complicated history of section 230 which was put forward as an alternative to heavy handed porn regulation and then turned into a powerful.

Section 230 is a piece of internet legislation in the united states passed into law as part of the communications decency act cda of 1996 a common name for title v of the telecommunications act of 1996 formally codified as section 230 of the communications act of 1934 at 47 u s c. Section 230 generally provides immunity for website publishers from third party content. Learning about section 230 s history is more important than ever. Berzon s take on section 230 is a more complete reflection of the complex goals that congress weighed at the time that it passed section 230.

Judge katzmann clearly recognizes the value of contributing to the ongoing debate about section 230 writing. Section 230 is a part of federal legislation passed more than 20 years ago.