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    Section 230: A Key Legal Shield For Facebook, Google Is About To Change

    The 1996 law is praised by the tech industry as the core pillar of Internet freedom. But its path also runs through some of the darkest corners of the Web, such as online sex trafficking of children.
    by Alina Selyukh Mar 21, 2018 6 minutes
    A 1996 law sits at the heart of a major question about the modern Internet: How much responsibility should fall to online platforms for how their users act and get treated?

    It's 1995, and Chris Cox is on a plane, reading a newspaper. One article about a recent court decision catches his eye. This moment, in a way, ends up changing his life — and, to this day, it continues to change ours.

    The case that caught the congressman's attention involved some posts on a bulletin board — the early-Internet precursor to today's social media. The ruling led to a new law, co-authored by Cox and often called simply "Section 230."

    This 1996 statute became known as "a core pillar of internet freedom" and "the law that gave us modern Internet" — a critical component of free speech online. But the journey of Section 230 runs through some of the darkest corners of the Web. Most egregiously, the law has been used to defend Backpage.com, a website featuring ads for sex with children forced into prostitution.

    Today, this law still sits at the heart of a major question about the modern Internet: How much responsibility do online platforms have for how their users behave

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