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Dialogue: The Future of Online Obscenity and Social Networks

March 9, 2009
by Adam Thierer and John Palfrey
Senior Fellow, Progress and Freedom Foundation; and Faculty Co-Director, Berkman Center for Internet & Society

Adam Thierer and John Palfrey

When the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was enshrined into law with the passage of the historic Telecommunications Act of 1996, it contained a number of controversial provisions that covered “obscene or indecent” online content. But at the behest of ISPs and others concerned about the potentially stifling effects of possible obscenity suits on the still-young network, the CDA also included 47 U.S.C. Sec. 230, commonly known as Section 230, which shielded “interactive computer service providers” from liability for information posted or published by users of their systems.

Although the censorial elements of the CDA were later struck down by the courts, Sec. 230 protections were preserved, and even enhanced, during subsequent legal challenges. Other child safety-oriented laws that Congress passed, such as the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA), were also struck down as unconstitutional. Currently, therefore, “interactive computer service providers”–which has been interpreted broadly to include almost all types of online services, from ISPs to social-networking sites–are largely free from any liability associated with speech or content that some deem objectionable (e.g., indecent, harassing, defamatory, biased, etc.).

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