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    As Trump Targets Twitter's Legal Shield, Experts Have A Warning

    Consensus is growing in Washington to repeal the decades-old law that protects tech platforms from lawsuits. Experts fear unintended consequences.
    by Bobby Allyn May 30, 2020 4 minutes

    President Trump has a new rallying cry in his escalating crusade against Twitter. As he put it in a tweet Friday: "REVOKE 230!"

    It's a reference to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law passed by Congress in 1996. It says online platforms are not legally responsible for what users post. Many say this protection enabled the creation of the modern Internet. But critics — on both the left and right — say it gives tech companies too much power at a time when they are essential to many peoples' lives.

    Trump seized on the once-obscure legal provision after wrangling with Twitter this week. The social media platform put on some of his tweets that claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots were fraudulent. Trump then seeking to peel away the sweeping legal immunity social media companies and other online sites have long used as a shield against an avalanche of lawsuits.

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