TECH
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FORTUNE.COM // DECEMBER 2019
TECH’S LEGAL
SHIELD TUSSLE
“SECTION 230 SHOULD BE ABOLISHED,” boomed Salesforce CEO Marc
Benioff at a gathering of New York media in October. Many other
people feel the same way.
Not long ago, the 23-year-old law known as Section 230 was hailed
as a pillar of the U.S. Internet economy for protecting any “interac-
tive computer service” from being sued because of the bad behavior
of its users. This legal shield meant online publishers like Reddit and
Yahoo could host freewheeling discussions with few repercussions.
But in recent years, Section 230 has been blamed for enabling the
worst aspects of the tech industry—be it fake news on Facebook,
terrorist propaganda on Twitter, or websites that traffic in revenge
porn. In August, the law gained further notoriety when Amazon
invoked it to argue that it had no legal responsibility for dangerous
and defective products sold on its site.
Internet companies have long enjoyed
immunity in court from what their
users post. Now that protection is in
peril. By Jeff John Roberts
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ILLUSTRATION BY EDMON DE HARO
