5 ms·
Literally read the link you just posted, the text of Section 230 makes absolutely no distinction between 'Publishers' and platforms. I really wish people would
by mikeyouse 5y ago
Literally read the link you just posted, the text of Section 230 makes absolutely no distinction between 'Publishers' and platforms. I really wish people would stop parroting this completely incorrect reading of the law.
Or take it from Mike Masnick:
> If you said "Once a company like that starts moderating content, it's no longer a platform, but a publisher"
> I regret to inform you that you are wrong. I know that you've likely heard this from someone else -- perhaps even someone respected -- but it's just not true. The law says no such thing. Again, I encourage you to read it. The law does distinguish between "interactive computer services" and "information content providers," but that is not, as some imply, a fancy legalistic ways of saying "platform" or "publisher." There is no "certification" or "decision" that a website needs to make to get 230 protections. It protects all websites and all users of websites when there is content posted on the sites by someone else.
> To be a bit more explicit: at no point in any court case regarding Section 230 is there a need to determine whether or not a particular website is a "platform" or a "publisher." What matters is solely the content in question. If that content is created by someone else, the website hosting it cannot be sued over it.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello...
- AbrahamParangi 5y agoThe point that people are making is that they believe the "spirit of the law" is a conceptual split between platforms and publishers. The way people commonly think of telephones vs newspapers. Telephones are a platform for speaking, newspapers are a publisher with editorial control. The discussion is not about whether or not social media companies have Section 230 protection but whether or not they should have it.