Interpreting Section 230: Before you read further, what do you think Section 230 means? What kinds of entities qualify for the immunity, from what kinds of liability, and under what circumstances? Does it adopt the Restatement’s rules, or change them?
Section 230 means that interactive websites can not be held liable for third party content. These entities include any website that is interactive whereby other users can post onto the website. Examples include social media sites, Wikipedia, Google, etc. This protects them against defamation claims and negligence for third party content. It does not adopt the Restatement’s rules and instead provides a wider range of protection. Even if the website knows about defamatory posts or acts negligently in removing a post, it is still afforded protection.
Leave a Reply