Knowra Section 230 Section 230 Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally shields online services from liability for content supplied by users and protects good-faith moderation decisions.
47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1) : A statutory provision stating that providers and users of interactive computer services are not treated as publishers or speakers of another content provider’s information. This clause supplies the central protection against liability for user-generated content.
Communications Decency Act : A 1996 federal law regulating aspects of telecommunications and online content, including the statute that contains Section 230. Section 230 was enacted as part of this broader law.
Zeran v. America Online, Inc. : A 1997 Fourth Circuit decision rejecting claims against AOL over defamatory user posts and interpreting Section 230 broadly. It became an influential early ruling on the scope of the user-content protection.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution : A constitutional provision protecting freedoms including speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition from government infringement. Section 230 is a statute, while the First Amendment independently constrains government regulation of speech.
Internet platform : A digital service that enables interactions among users, businesses, or other participants. Section 230 helped establish the legal environment in which user-intermediating services operate.
47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(2) : A statutory provision protecting certain good-faith restrictions on objectionable material and tools that enable those restrictions. This clause addresses moderation choices rather than treating services as publishers.
Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co. : A 1995 New York state court decision treating Prodigy as a publisher after it moderated user messages. The ruling helped motivate a federal rule against making moderation itself a basis for publisher liability.
Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC : A Ninth Circuit decision holding that Section 230 did not immunize a website from claims based on discriminatory information it helped develop. It marks a limit on immunity when a service materially contributes to unlawful content.
Copyright Act of 1976 : The principal federal statute governing copyright in the United States, including rights and remedies for copyrighted works. Section 230 expressly does not displace federal intellectual-property law, including copyright.
Content moderation : The review, ranking, labeling, removal, or restriction of content by services and their moderators. Section 230’s protections influence how services make and defend moderation decisions.
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