Legal Protection Rule for Internet Companies Could Be Changed

 

Experts say just 26 words from a 1996 law have helped companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google grow to the size they are today.

The law is known as Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency¹ Act. It is facing new attention and might be changed.

It protects internet companies from facing legal cases over things others place on their platforms. Under U.S. law, the companies are generally not responsible for things their users post on their websites.

But last week, President Donald Trump² pushed back against Section 230 with an executive order. The order says the government will reconsider protections if companies make "editorial decisions" about what users post.

Trump's executive order came last Thursday, days after Twitter added what it called a fact-check warning to two of Trump's posts.

Trump and other politicians say that Twitter, Facebook and other social media companies have abused protections from Section 230. They have argued that the law should be changed or cancelled altogether.

Some experts suggest that the internet as we know it today might change completely if the law were cancelled.

Here are some common questions and answers about the law.

What is Section 230?

An example might help answer that question. If a news website falsely calls you a cheat, you can bring legal action against the publisher. But if someone posts on Facebook that you are a cheat, you cannot bring a legal case against Facebook — only the person who posted it.

The law protects companies, which can have many millions of posts, from facing legal cases brought by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has posted. It does not matter if the post is true or false.

Section 230 also permits social media services to remove posts that are obscene or violate what the service considers acceptable. In addition, the law requires the service to be acting³ in "good faith."

In legal terms, "good faith" means acting with honesty and fairness and without the desire to destroy the rights of a person or business.

Where did Section 230 come from?

The measure has its roots in the 1950s, when bookstore owners were being held responsible for selling books containing "obscenity." Obscenity is not protected by freedom of speech rules in the First Amendment⁴.

One case on the issue reached the Supreme⁵ Court. The Court ruled that it was unlawful to hold someone responsible for someone else's writings.

The 1990s were years when the internet experienced huge growth. Two companies operating at that time were CompuServe and Prodigy⁶. They offered online forums⁷ where people could share information. CompuServe chose not to moderate its forum⁸, while Prodigy did.

CompuServe was taken to court over its policy. That case was dismissed. Prodigy, however, got in trouble. A judge ruled that Prodigy "exercised editorial control" said Jeff Kosseff. He wrote a book about Section 230 called "The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet."

Politicians did not like the judge's decision. They worried it would lead internet companies not to moderate at all. And Section 230 was born.

What if Section 230 is limited or goes away?

Kosseff told the Associated Press, "I don't think any of the social media companies would exist in their current forms without Section 230." He said the companies have based their business models on being platforms for user posts.

There are two possibilities of what could happen. Platforms might remove some of their offerings. The website Craigslist, for example, took down a section from its website after the 2018 passage of a sex-trafficking law. The law created an exception to Section 230 for material that supports sex work. Craigslist quickly removed its "personals" section completely. The company did not want to take chances.

Kate Ruane is a senior lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. She said that if social media platforms were not protected under the law, they would not risk posting Donald Trump's posts.

Another possibility is that Facebook, Twitter and other platforms could stop moderation altogether. Instead, they could let anyone post anything, good or bad.

Services like 8chan, which is known for letting users post extremist images and messages, could then easily take control of social media, said Eric Goldman. He is a law professor at Santa Clara University in California. He said undoing⁹ Section 230 would be dangerous to the internet.

But Goldman does not see the administration's order as that kind of threat to the internet. He said it is meant to appeal to Trump supporters. "The president can't override¹⁰ Congress," he said.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

post –v. to add a message to an online message board

platform –n. a tool, often involving technology that permits a person or group to tell a large number of people about an idea, product, etc.

editorial –adj. relating to editors or editing

obscene –adj. relating to sex in an indecent or offensive way

forum –n. an area of a website where people go to discuss things

moderate –adj. to guide a discussion or direct a meeting involving a group of people

1 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

7 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

10 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。