Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: Next Big Battle over Internet Freedom

In April, Washington lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a narrow bill that seeks to crack down on sex trafficking online. To most, it seemed like a no-brainer: Sex trafficking is obviously bad. The law, however, changed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a 20-year-old communications law that is the basis of the free internet as we know it. On April 11, President Donald Trump signed the bill — a combination of bills passed by the House and Senate, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) — into law. The legislation opens more avenues for victims of online sex trafficking to legally pursue websites that facilitate trafficking by amending Section 230, making it easier for federal and state prosecutors and private citizens to go after platforms whose sites have been used by traffickers. Originally, Section 230 was intended to shield tech platforms from liability for content posted by their users. But it has become more and more imperiled, not only with FOSTA-SESTA but also in light of increased scrutiny on Facebook and the advent of platforms such as Airbnb and Yelp, where third-party content is the business model.