How Section 230 helped create the internet... and why it may go away

Soundside

"No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."

You may not totally understand what that means, but some say these are the 26 words that made the internet what it is today. And congress may be ready to repeal them.

Written and passed in 1996, the law Section 230 shields websites from being held responsible for the content users post. In other words, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Reddit can’t be sued for what people share there. But now, a growing bipartisan group of lawmakers believes Section 230 goes too far and are considering a repeal.

The impact? … It could totally reshape the way the internet works.

Guest:

UW Professor of Political Science Victor Menaldo

Relevant Links:

Section 230: Friend, not foe, of free speech

The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet

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