Today marks the 29th anniversary of the Communications Decency Act being signed into law, which gave us Section 230. Section 230 is a fundamental legal building block of the modern American internet, and it helped make U.S. tech the global leader it is today.
This simply-worded statute ensures online platforms are not legally liable for the posts of their users and that internet platforms, large and small, can operate without being buried under endless lawsuits for their users’ content. It establishes legal clarity for businesses and law enforcement by making sure those who misuse the internet’s tools to do harm are the ones held liable under the law.
In NetChoice & CCIA v. Moody, the Supreme Court ruled that content moderation—the act of deciding what content is and is not allowed on their service—is a First Amendment-protected activity and not something Section 230 creates. Rather, the long-standing Section 230 statute provides a clear and efficient tort law that ensures the ultimate punishment for illegal content falls on those who create it—not the services that host speech.
When established back in 1996, Section 230’s legal clarity helped investors and entrepreneurs to confidently power the American tech industry into today’s global leader. In 2020, the industry contributed about $1.2 trillion of domestic value to the U.S. economy—over 5% of total GDP. Between 2010 and 2020, while the U.S. economy grew about 39%, the U.S. tech sector grew around109%. No doubt, such strong statistics rely on a clear and efficient legal environment. Section 230 helps to provide that for American tech services and their users.
While all online businesses that host user-created content benefit from Section 230, startups and small businesses are the ones who need it most. They are much more vulnerable to suffering from existential challenges posed by copious legal burdens than larger companies.
There are many deep-pocketed interests such as the trial bar that wish to see Section 230’s demise, as changes or repeal of the statute would be in their specific financial interests. We hope that Congress continues to see these self-interested campaigns for what they are and stand in defense of a law that has provided so much value to the U.S. economy and American speech online.