Section 230 has shaped how people both see and use the internet today. It is an important part of how people live their lives online.
In 1996 Section 230 was created in order to prevent internet companies from being treated as publishers and was done in part to allow the internet to succeed. It protects companies like Twitter and Facebook that contain trillions of messages from being sued by anyone who is wronged by something someone else has posted.
Section 230 is an integrate part of the internet today. Websites like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok would not exist without this law, but recently this law has drawn some criticism. Section 230 also allows companies to remove and edit posts that violate their own standards.
If you eliminate Section 230 though it will become extremely difficult for companies, like the ones listed above, to survive. They will have to micromanage users and pre-approve posts. This could lead to the removal of even more posts.
President Trump signed an executive order in May 2020 modifying section 230, but President Biden revoked the order in May of 2021.
Now, Gonzalez vs. Google and Twitter vs Taamneh have both reached the Supreme Court. Both cases will be heard today and tomorrow.
