Posted by hn_acker 10/28/2024
Call it “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.”
As the name implies, the CDA was an attempt at censorship, specifically an act to outlaw internet pornography.
An unconstitutional (per SCOTUS) act to outlaw unpopular speech (pornography).
Far from being some libertarian Christmas gift, the whole point is to facilitate internet censorship.
Without 230 of the CDA, third parties would be held liable for attempts at moderation (a synonym for private censorship).
It’s so bizarre that the popular understanding is so far removed from what was actually done.
Also, it is somewhat misleading to call Section 230 “a snippet of law embedded in the 1995 Communications Decency Act.” Section 230 was an entirely different law, designed to be a replacement for the CDA. It was the Internet Freedom and Family Empowerment Act and was put forth by then Reps. Cox and Wyden as an alternative to the CDA. Then, Congress, in its infinite stupidity, took both bills and merged them.