INTRODUCTION
A robust public debate is currently underway about the responsibility of online platforms for harmful content. We have long called for this discussion, but only recently has it been seriously taken up by legislators and the public. The debate begins with a basic question: should platforms be responsible for user-generated content? If so, under what circumstances? What exactly would such responsibility look like? At the heart of this debate is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 – a provision originally designed to encourage tech companies to clean up ‘offensive’ online content. Section 230 was adopted at the dawn of the commercial internet. According to the standard narrative of its passage, federal lawmakers wanted the internet to be open and free, but they also realized that such openness risked encouraging noxious activity. In their estimation, tech companies were essential partners in any effort to ‘clean up the Internet’ … (more)
Citron, Danielle Keats and Frank, Mary Margaret. ‘The Internet as a Speech Machine and Other Myths Confounding Section 230 Reform’, University of Chicago Legal Forum volume 2020, Article 3.
First posted 2020-12-09 09:35:00
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