Should Section 230 be repealed?
App logos for Facebook, left, and X, formerly known as Twitter, are seen on a mobile phone in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 16, 2024 AP Photo/Paula Ulichney
In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, which — at the time — looked to set the tone for how the federal government regulates the internet. It's main purpose was to regulate pornographic material, particularly the transmission of obscene or indecent messages/material to minors. The Supreme Court quickly struck down the law in 1997, citing First Amendment violations. However, one portion of the law remained intact, known as Section 230.
Section 230 reads... "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Internet experts say those 26 words are some of the most important in Internet history, shaping the web as we know it today.
But talks to repeal Section 230, are almost as old as the law itself, and there's been bipartisan support with recent efforts focusing on social media, though for different reasons. Legal and media experts weigh in.
GUESTS
Lena Shapiro
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law
Director of the First Amendment Clinic, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law
Alex Goncalves
Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Illinois College of Media
John Bathke
Attorney, Phillips & Bathke, P.C.