Not only has Section 230 turned the web into a stalking ground for sexual predators, it’s also given Putin cheap & easy access to Americans, an access he’s been using for years to tear us apart...
Extremely important information that our news media should be educating people about. Maybe Rachel Maddow could do a documentary. Thanks Thom for another eye opening article!
“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.”
There may be some exceptions. Under the Antiterrorism Act, as amended by the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, U.S. nationals who are injured in an act of terrorism can sue anyone who “aids and abets” international terrorism “by knowingly providing substantial assistance.
The 27 European Union member states are preparing for 2024's full rollout of the Digital Services Act, which potentially could become a model for legislation in the U.S.
If the US had a treaty with the EU re intellectual property and internet liability, it could pre-empt Section 230 — of the Telecommunications Act. Treaties rise to the same level as the Constitution.
They monitor pictures on the net so there is no reason they cannot monitor forums, twitter, etc...They just do not want to despite the social damage. War causes harm so society can do so as well. We live in an uncivil society and unseen harm is acceptable. Before the end of this year expect that to change. Biden should campaign on making women & children safe from obvious predators everywhere especially fb.
I recently read about Zuckerberg's bunker in Hawaii. Unbelievable. What else did Clinton mess up while president besides Section 230 and trashing the Glass-Steagall Act? Was he focusing on his job?
They have too much money to allow the law to be changed that would reduce their obscene profits.
Thanks Gloria. Clinton created the rust belt/swing states when he signed NAFTA and GAAT.; He created the school to prison pipeline, for mostly blacks, with his Omnibus Crime Bill, he gave the Christian Nationalists a gift when he signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
He officially did away with the Fairness Doctrine, and enabled the current monopolistic environment of the communications industry with his Telecommunications act of 1996
He was fascists walking wet dream. And yet feckless Americans thought that his glory seeking wife would be different.
Rndy Bill was to preoccupied with sex. BTW. I do believe the Jennifer Flowers story, thanks to Monica Lewinsky.
His re election was guaranteed because that hypocritical and obnoxious Newt Gingrich was constantly after him, and that is where reverse psychology comes into play.
I believe we can't trust any politician, and I fully supported Clinton at the time. I feel betrayed. Did I read that the Clintons are worth hundreds of million dollars now?
The Democratic Party is Center Left, the Republican party before Trump is Center Right.
There is not a dimes worth of difference between the two, except when it came to cultural issues.
I sussed that out in 1964, and watched Humpty go at Dumpty for decades, that is until Trump came down the elevator, and at that moment when he opened his mouth I knew that there was a new game in town.
The Dem's have always given lip service to cultural issues, but have effectively done nothing, and that is why black males, mostly young ones, are disaffected as perhaps Hispanics.
The only time I have seen the Democrats actually act like real liberals is in Obama's administration, when at the urging of Joe Biden, he instructed the DOJ not to defend Obergefell (gay marriage)
Take Note that Obama instructed the DOJ, but Biden is keeping hands off and letting Garland act like the conservative Republican that he is, not just conservative, but base on his actions and inaction's quite a bit right of center right, almost in Trump land, if not in Trump land.
I watch Nixon played the southern strategy, while Democrats made fools of themselves.
I watched in amazement as the Chicago 7 attacked the Democratic convention, and in doing so, guaranteed Nixon's win and as a consequence more lives lost in that insane endeavor, including four of my team mates, but they died in Sep 1967).
The unintended consequences of Abbie Hoffman and his crew,is that the war would drag on for 7 more years. If they had sat back and let McGovern win, I am sure that the war would have ended sooner.
Thanks Abbie, and the feckless Marxist left lionizes Abbie and his crew.
I watched as Reagan betrayed his base. In the campaign he kissed up to unions, including PATCO, and his first act as President was to fire all of the Air Traffic Controller union members.
Reagan also promised not to appoint any members of the CFR and Trilateral Commission to his cabinet, and the first thing he did was appoint CFR and TC members to his cabinet., like Caspar Weinberger, president of TC, as Secretary of Defense.
He would have had a better chance where it not for Abie Hoffman and his gang. Abie should have been at the Republican national convention, just like the Arabs and Blacks and leftist dissidents should be down the throats of Republicans.
However they might get hurt if they do, it is all about peformance, crowd size, impressing peers so they pick on their own people, who might not be as doctrinaire as they.
Bill Clinton also reformed welfare benefits. I lived in Idaho at that time, and in that state an unmarried mother of eight children starting receiving the exact same amount as the mother of one child.
Bill left office, basically broke, then the establishment came to his rescue and made Hillary's book a best seller, possibly doing what is done for right wingers, buying up the books in lots.
You may not have been paying attention, but during his presidency Bill lauded international financial institutions 21 times, and his tour was great for neo liberals, billionaires, corporations and financial institutions, and he was rewarded with is own no profit,from which he draws a salary of course, The Clinton Global Initiative, which is responsible for Haiti's current troubles but that is another story.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and a marriage is a tree. Opposites do not in fact attract, not in humans
As Bill so is Hillary, as is James Carville so is Mary Matalin, as is George Conway so is Kelly Anne Conway, there is a tie that unites them and it isn't politics or ideology.
I hardly think Putin is the primary source of American ignorance and internal conflict, or even in the top 10 for that matter. I would say propaganda with the intent to distract from within and protect political party electoral prospects is far more dangerous.
Much like gun control issues, people who have an all-or-nothing mentality stymie ANY protections. Fanatics on free speech and unregulated markets play their part. And there is the greed.....
Since the damage done is bi-partisan, we might get some change at last. Once again the tragedy has to reach THEIR doorstep before they react or even believe. Personally, I believe in Thom and Nigel's expertise. There has to be SOMETHING we can do about the laws and the fat-cats.
Ever wonder what it's like for the people that have to edit the horror that gets posted? Even that gets outsourced. There is a compelling documentary on the subject called "The Cleaners"; the film is about workers in Manila and what it does to their lives.
Jennifer Crumbly doesn't think she should be held responsible for the shooting her son did at his school. Will there be that one person with that all-or-nothing mindset on her jury?
If you’re going to lead an article about the dangers of social media regarding the dangers to women, where is the anecdote about violence against women?
Where are the authentic accounts of that trespass?
Like "the Bern", everybody bitching about the nasty internet has no solution to offer except shut it down. Unfortunately (they will say), we have a first amendment and that is not easily done. I have no solutions but I also don't see any of the problems. Without that evidence, how is a normal citizen to make up his/her/its mind what to do?
Well, then, I suggest you move to Putin's Russia. The point is that all this noise about parent's being unable to control their kids contains NO suggested solutions for the megabillionaires. I'm an ex-programmer. I have no idea how to verify ages much less detecting language designed to seduce young girls or belittle them. Do you? If yes, then, spit it out.
Weak premise alert: thanks to the Scalia-Alito-Roberts doctrine (whatever the rich want is the law, and to hell with sixty years or more of precedent) ordinary folks have a hell of a time overcoming forced arbitration clauses and actually getting to sue the shady car dealers and health care facilities who screw them.
Best explanation of section 230 that I have read. Thank you Tom! If the movie The Social Network is to be believed Mark Z was a scoundrel back at Harvard as he is now. I have not used FB other than to check on my flower growers.
Flog ALL liars. Some of the profits need to go to a jury that decides whether there is proof of a statement being true or false. Like Trump saying that he won the election is obviously a lie. Everyone repeating that line needs to be flogged. We would need multiple juries because there are liars amongst us if you haven't noticed? Anyone who uses the internet would have to speak the truth or be flogged or shut up. We could call them the truth commissions.
Everyone who uses the internet needs to be given their own unique number. Every time a person lies, A mark needs to be made to warn others that that person is a liar. On Facebook the goody two shoe Church going self-righteous hypocrites would have numerous marks, I could see where that would be embarrassing if you're pretending to be a moral Godly servant of the Lord. An independent unbiased truth commission needs to be set up. Would you buy a car from a person that has over 30,000 marks? Probably not but you would elect him for president if you were a GOP who hated their neighbor.
I strongly disagree with post. The Internet as we know it would not exist today without CDA Section 230. Numerous technology experts have written extensively about Sect 230 (Tim Wu, Cory Doctorow & Mike Masnick to name a few) and why repealing “Section 230” won’t do what anyone wants.
Extremely important information that our news media should be educating people about. Maybe Rachel Maddow could do a documentary. Thanks Thom for another eye opening article!
“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.”
Not true in other countries. E.G. EU: https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens/redress/can-i-claim-compensation_en#:~:text=Example-,Answer,distress%20or%20loss%20of%20reputation).
There may be some exceptions. Under the Antiterrorism Act, as amended by the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, U.S. nationals who are injured in an act of terrorism can sue anyone who “aids and abets” international terrorism “by knowingly providing substantial assistance.
The 27 European Union member states are preparing for 2024's full rollout of the Digital Services Act, which potentially could become a model for legislation in the U.S.
If the US had a treaty with the EU re intellectual property and internet liability, it could pre-empt Section 230 — of the Telecommunications Act. Treaties rise to the same level as the Constitution.
They monitor pictures on the net so there is no reason they cannot monitor forums, twitter, etc...They just do not want to despite the social damage. War causes harm so society can do so as well. We live in an uncivil society and unseen harm is acceptable. Before the end of this year expect that to change. Biden should campaign on making women & children safe from obvious predators everywhere especially fb.
Yes Clayton and without mentioning names there are Putin trolls infesting substack.
I recently read about Zuckerberg's bunker in Hawaii. Unbelievable. What else did Clinton mess up while president besides Section 230 and trashing the Glass-Steagall Act? Was he focusing on his job?
They have too much money to allow the law to be changed that would reduce their obscene profits.
Thanks Gloria. Clinton created the rust belt/swing states when he signed NAFTA and GAAT.; He created the school to prison pipeline, for mostly blacks, with his Omnibus Crime Bill, he gave the Christian Nationalists a gift when he signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
He officially did away with the Fairness Doctrine, and enabled the current monopolistic environment of the communications industry with his Telecommunications act of 1996
He was fascists walking wet dream. And yet feckless Americans thought that his glory seeking wife would be different.
Rndy Bill was to preoccupied with sex. BTW. I do believe the Jennifer Flowers story, thanks to Monica Lewinsky.
His re election was guaranteed because that hypocritical and obnoxious Newt Gingrich was constantly after him, and that is where reverse psychology comes into play.
I believe we can't trust any politician, and I fully supported Clinton at the time. I feel betrayed. Did I read that the Clintons are worth hundreds of million dollars now?
The Democratic Party is Center Left, the Republican party before Trump is Center Right.
There is not a dimes worth of difference between the two, except when it came to cultural issues.
I sussed that out in 1964, and watched Humpty go at Dumpty for decades, that is until Trump came down the elevator, and at that moment when he opened his mouth I knew that there was a new game in town.
The Dem's have always given lip service to cultural issues, but have effectively done nothing, and that is why black males, mostly young ones, are disaffected as perhaps Hispanics.
The only time I have seen the Democrats actually act like real liberals is in Obama's administration, when at the urging of Joe Biden, he instructed the DOJ not to defend Obergefell (gay marriage)
Take Note that Obama instructed the DOJ, but Biden is keeping hands off and letting Garland act like the conservative Republican that he is, not just conservative, but base on his actions and inaction's quite a bit right of center right, almost in Trump land, if not in Trump land.
I watch Nixon played the southern strategy, while Democrats made fools of themselves.
I watched in amazement as the Chicago 7 attacked the Democratic convention, and in doing so, guaranteed Nixon's win and as a consequence more lives lost in that insane endeavor, including four of my team mates, but they died in Sep 1967).
The unintended consequences of Abbie Hoffman and his crew,is that the war would drag on for 7 more years. If they had sat back and let McGovern win, I am sure that the war would have ended sooner.
Thanks Abbie, and the feckless Marxist left lionizes Abbie and his crew.
I watched as Reagan betrayed his base. In the campaign he kissed up to unions, including PATCO, and his first act as President was to fire all of the Air Traffic Controller union members.
Reagan also promised not to appoint any members of the CFR and Trilateral Commission to his cabinet, and the first thing he did was appoint CFR and TC members to his cabinet., like Caspar Weinberger, president of TC, as Secretary of Defense.
I
I remember. I am not sure McGovern would have won, though.
He would have had a better chance where it not for Abie Hoffman and his gang. Abie should have been at the Republican national convention, just like the Arabs and Blacks and leftist dissidents should be down the throats of Republicans.
However they might get hurt if they do, it is all about peformance, crowd size, impressing peers so they pick on their own people, who might not be as doctrinaire as they.
And the result is doing the enemies job.
"and as a consequence more lives lost in that insane endeavor, including four of my team mates, but they died in Sep 1967)."
I meant to tell you I'm sorry about your team mates and what you went through.
The D party is NOT Centre Left. It is right wing and the repugs are facists.
I am finding it hard to find a difference between the 2.
Bill Clinton also reformed welfare benefits. I lived in Idaho at that time, and in that state an unmarried mother of eight children starting receiving the exact same amount as the mother of one child.
Bill left office, basically broke, then the establishment came to his rescue and made Hillary's book a best seller, possibly doing what is done for right wingers, buying up the books in lots.
You may not have been paying attention, but during his presidency Bill lauded international financial institutions 21 times, and his tour was great for neo liberals, billionaires, corporations and financial institutions, and he was rewarded with is own no profit,from which he draws a salary of course, The Clinton Global Initiative, which is responsible for Haiti's current troubles but that is another story.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and a marriage is a tree. Opposites do not in fact attract, not in humans
As Bill so is Hillary, as is James Carville so is Mary Matalin, as is George Conway so is Kelly Anne Conway, there is a tie that unites them and it isn't politics or ideology.
Such excellent reporting. Many thanks for your clarity and educating us about Section 230 -- and so much more.
I hardly think Putin is the primary source of American ignorance and internal conflict, or even in the top 10 for that matter. I would say propaganda with the intent to distract from within and protect political party electoral prospects is far more dangerous.
LOL: As expected, the Putinista arises to Putins defense, always the deflection, always the distraction.
You don't get it Boris, outside of one or two simple minds, everyone is on to you.
Putin is definitely putting his thumb on the scale, and it is damaging. Section 230 should really go.
Do you think the US does the same in other countries?
Much like gun control issues, people who have an all-or-nothing mentality stymie ANY protections. Fanatics on free speech and unregulated markets play their part. And there is the greed.....
Since the damage done is bi-partisan, we might get some change at last. Once again the tragedy has to reach THEIR doorstep before they react or even believe. Personally, I believe in Thom and Nigel's expertise. There has to be SOMETHING we can do about the laws and the fat-cats.
Ever wonder what it's like for the people that have to edit the horror that gets posted? Even that gets outsourced. There is a compelling documentary on the subject called "The Cleaners"; the film is about workers in Manila and what it does to their lives.
Jennifer Crumbly doesn't think she should be held responsible for the shooting her son did at his school. Will there be that one person with that all-or-nothing mindset on her jury?
If you’re going to lead an article about the dangers of social media regarding the dangers to women, where is the anecdote about violence against women?
Where are the authentic accounts of that trespass?
Like "the Bern", everybody bitching about the nasty internet has no solution to offer except shut it down. Unfortunately (they will say), we have a first amendment and that is not easily done. I have no solutions but I also don't see any of the problems. Without that evidence, how is a normal citizen to make up his/her/its mind what to do?
"Normal Citizen"? What planet do you live on.
People making up their minds? Rather having their minds made up for them.
You are correct about thing, as it is, the internet has created a wild wild west, not only in America but in all so called Democracies.
I recall the words of Osama bin Laden, we will use your democracy (freedoms) to destroy you, and so it has come to pass.
.
Well, then, I suggest you move to Putin's Russia. The point is that all this noise about parent's being unable to control their kids contains NO suggested solutions for the megabillionaires. I'm an ex-programmer. I have no idea how to verify ages much less detecting language designed to seduce young girls or belittle them. Do you? If yes, then, spit it out.
George you have gone off on a wild tangent. Where is your mind at?
Reality.
Weak premise alert: thanks to the Scalia-Alito-Roberts doctrine (whatever the rich want is the law, and to hell with sixty years or more of precedent) ordinary folks have a hell of a time overcoming forced arbitration clauses and actually getting to sue the shady car dealers and health care facilities who screw them.
Realistically no-one is going to stop the trash on the internet!
Parents need to monitor what their kids are watching and how many hours they have a day.
Best explanation of section 230 that I have read. Thank you Tom! If the movie The Social Network is to be believed Mark Z was a scoundrel back at Harvard as he is now. I have not used FB other than to check on my flower growers.
Flog ALL liars. Some of the profits need to go to a jury that decides whether there is proof of a statement being true or false. Like Trump saying that he won the election is obviously a lie. Everyone repeating that line needs to be flogged. We would need multiple juries because there are liars amongst us if you haven't noticed? Anyone who uses the internet would have to speak the truth or be flogged or shut up. We could call them the truth commissions.
Everyone who uses the internet needs to be given their own unique number. Every time a person lies, A mark needs to be made to warn others that that person is a liar. On Facebook the goody two shoe Church going self-righteous hypocrites would have numerous marks, I could see where that would be embarrassing if you're pretending to be a moral Godly servant of the Lord. An independent unbiased truth commission needs to be set up. Would you buy a car from a person that has over 30,000 marks? Probably not but you would elect him for president if you were a GOP who hated their neighbor.
I strongly disagree with post. The Internet as we know it would not exist today without CDA Section 230. Numerous technology experts have written extensively about Sect 230 (Tim Wu, Cory Doctorow & Mike Masnick to name a few) and why repealing “Section 230” won’t do what anyone wants.
- Hello! You've Been Referred Here Because You're Wrong About Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act <https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/>
- Why Both Liberals and Conservatives Are Completely Wrong About Section 230 <https://www.promarket.org/2020/12/13/liberals-conservatives-wrong-section-230-reform-repeal/>
- Section 230 is 25 years old, and it’s never been more important <https://www.theverge.com/22268421/cda-section-230-25th-anniversary-reform-stakes-big-tech-internet>