Section 230’s Original Intent Offers Touchstone for Online Safety
As Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act nears its 30th year since enactment, debate rages on in Congress and in the public as to whether and how it should be changed or perhaps scrapped altogether.
Objection to Section 230 in its current form comes from both sides of the political aisle, with opinions running the gamut from “not far enough” to “way too far” in terms of censoring content. In this article, Sidley lawyers Randi Singer and Liz McLean discuss the history, intent, and debate surrounding Section 230, as well as some of the 30-plus Congressional proposals that have been introduced during the last three years, such as the recent (May 22) proposal to sunset Section 230 entirely. The authors suggest that “changes to Section 230… seem inevitable and will no doubt herald a slew of lawsuits about content moderation.” They further suggest that “proposed changes would benefit from consideration of one of Section 230’s original aims—to give interactive computer services leeway to make their platforms safer.”
Reproduced with permission. Published July 29, 2024. Copyright 2024 Bloomberg Industry Group 800-372-1033. For further use please visit https://www.bloombergindustry.com/copyright-and-usage-guidelines-copyright/.
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