TPA Celebrates Section 230…So Should Everybody

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, the Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing examining Section 230. This provision, passed three decades ago, has become the basis of the free and open internet in America. The 26 words that ushered in a new era of free speech for the internet are: “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.”

David McGarry, Research Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following comment:

“Section 230 was a statute done right. Seeing a deficiency in the status quo, which, in the 1990s, was poorly fitted for the burgeoning internet, former Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) and now-Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) drafted a proposal that applied the fundamental principle that only the speaker of illegal speech ought to be held to account for it. Experience has vindicated their judgment. In these 30 years since Section 230 became law, free speech has flourished on the internet, democratizing public debates and introducing new competition to legacy institutions. 

“Section 230 protects like platforms, big and small, equally. While large technology platforms—today’s incumbents in digital markets—might have battalions of lawyers and compliance officers, small platforms—some of which may be the goats of tomorrow—rely on Section 230 for protection against lawfare that intends to constrain speech online. 

“Free speech at scale does not emerge in a desert of institutions. Online platforms serve as mediating institutions which allow Americans’ speech to be heard far and wide. Besides assigning liability properly, Section 230 has proven effective at protecting platforms against frivolous litigation and, consequently, protecting the practical ability of users to hear speech online and be heard themselves. This landmark statute, only 26 words in length, must be safeguarded as the cornerstone of the free and open internet.”

###

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.