Section 230

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which legal scholar Jeff Kosseff dubbed “the twenty-six words that created the internet,” is a 1996 law that provides broad immunity to online platforms and services from liability for content posted by their users.

Key Provisions

The law contains two main provisions:

  1. Platform Immunity: Online platforms cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content
  2. Good Faith Moderation: Platforms can moderate content without losing their immunity

Historical Context

Section 230 was enacted as part of the Communications Decency Act, Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed February 8, 1996. Its stated purposes under Section 230(b) include promoting internet development, preserving the free market, encouraging the development of technologies for user control, and removing disincentives for platforms to moderate content. It emerged from concerns about two conflicting court cases:

  • Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe Inc. (1991) - Found CompuServe acted as a distributor rather than publisher, liable only if it knew or had reason to know of defamatory content
  • Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co. (1995) - Found Prodigy liable as a publisher because it exercised editorial control over its message boards

Impact on Digital Platforms

Section 230 has enabled:

  • The growth of social media platforms
  • User review sites and forums
  • Comment sections on news sites
  • Video and content sharing platforms
  • Messaging services, wikis, and other user-generated content services

Ongoing Debates

The law faces criticism and reform proposals from multiple perspectives:

  • Concerns about platform power and content moderation decisions
  • Questions about platform responsibility for harmful content
  • Debates over the scope of “good faith” content moderation
  • State-level attempts to regulate platform moderation practices

Sources

  1. 01.

    U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code, 2023 Edition). 47 U.S.C. § 230 — Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material. Source for the (b) policy statements, the (c)(1) publisher-or-speaker rule, the (c)(2) 'Good Samaritan' provision, and the (e) exceptions for federal criminal law, intellectual property, communications privacy, and sex trafficking.

    www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title47/html/USCODE-2023-title47-chap5-subchapII-partI-sec230.htm
  2. 02.

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56. Enacting law, signed February 8, 1996. Title V is the Communications Decency Act; § 509 added Section 230 to the Communications Act of 1934.

    www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-104publ104/pdf/PLAW-104publ104.pdf
  3. 03.

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-164, 132 Stat. 1253. Enacted April 11, 2018 (FOSTA-SESTA); source for the sex-trafficking carve-out now at 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(5).

    www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-115publ164/pdf/PLAW-115publ164.pdf
  4. 04.

    Supreme Court of the United States. Gonzalez v. Google LLC, No. 21-1333 (U.S. May 18, 2023). (2023). Per curiam slip opinion; the Court declined to address the scope of Section 230 immunity.

    www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1333_6j7a.pdf