Explainers
Explainer: With Florida Social Media Law, Section 230 Now Positioned In Legal Spotlight
As Florida’s governor signs new social media law, Section 230 is on a collision course with reform and the law.
Free Speech
Conflicting Arguments on Internet Censorship at Research Session on Free Speech and Societal Harmony
February 22, 2021 – Panelists at a communications research conference on Thursday were divided about how to reconcile free speech rights and regulating disinformation on the internet. The townhall at TPRC48 – which stand for Telecommunications Policy Research Conference – generally followed the Chat
EFF
Supporters of Section 230 Agreed About Concerns, But Counterarguments Dominated Panel Discussion
February 13, 2021 – With many current proposals to revise Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, supporters of the landmark internet law on Tuesday discussed how new proposals could heavily interfere with the First Amendment. The general angst about how people are using the internet badly, c
FCC
Biased Data Causing Racist AI, Free Speech and Digital Advertising, Detroit Suburb Offers Gigabit Network
Facial recognition technology has malfunctioned more frequently for people of color, Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said at the Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council event on Wednesday. “Dirty data is a big problem,” he said, and defined that term as missing or wrong
FCC
Mobile Technology Aided the Growth of Black Lives Matter, But Will Hashtag Outrage Lead to Change?
September 21, 2020 — In the United States, widespread public use of mobile phone cameras and social media has thrust the longstanding issue of police brutality against Black Americans into the national spotlight like never before. Delving deeply into the subject of how digital tools have contributed
FCC
Commerce Department Asks Federal Communications Commission to Reconsider Section 230 Protections
July 27, 2020 — The U.S. Commerce Department under the Trump administration on Monday followed through on the president’s orders and filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to issue proposed rules narrowing the protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. “A ha
China
Russians are Trying to Sway Trusted Institutions, Says Center for Strategic and International Studies
July 14, 2020 — Russia is actively attempting to shift trusted institutions both in the United States and abroad, said participants in a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar Tuesday. Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, said that when institutions are swaye
Free Speech
Online Speech Has Harmful Effects on Both Individuals and Society, According to Mary Anne Franks
July 10, 2020 — A letter signed by over 150 prominent intellectuals and artists was published by Harper’s Magazine on Tuesday, warning against an “intolerant culture” engulfing American values. “As writers, we need a culture that leaves us room for experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes,” t
Section 230
Section 230 Under Attack From the Right and the Left
June 26, 2020 — The debate over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act spans a broad range of views, with some arguing that it essentially plays the same role as the First Amendment and others claiming that it wrongfully enables significant abuse. Speaking at a Yale Law School webinar on Thur
FCC
Trump’s Section 230 Order is Direct Regulation of Speech Long Feared by GOP
June 23, 2020 — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has played an important role in the shifting center of power on the internet, but where that center of power should reside going forward is a hotly contested topic. “The story of whether 230 is deregulatory is … a complicated story, becau
Section 230
Under Section 230, Should Tech Platforms Be Able to Exercise Editorial Control and Still Avoid Liability?
June 22, 2020 — Legal experts disagreed on Monday about whether Section 230 is exacerbating or helping to solve problems with the current state of online content moderation. “I think the real friction point is because Section 230 is counterintuitive — it says that you can exercise control and not be
Section 230
Revisions to Section 230 Would be Fraught With Dangerous Implications, Say Lincoln Network Panelists
June 17, 2020 — Conversations around the removal or revision of Section 230 are often fraught with treacherous implications for free speech online, said participants in a Wednesday Lincoln Network webinar. Panelists discussed an NBC News report from Tuesday, which incorrectly claimed that Google’s a
Justice Department
Section 230 Executive Order Questioned by Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Legal Experts
June 17, 2020 — “Section 230 is on fire in D.C.,” said Eric Goldman, professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, at a Wednesday webinar hosted by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Panelists on the webinar discussed President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regardin
X (Twitter)
Social Media Companies Can Block and Control Harmful Content Amidst Current Coronavirus Disinformation
June 9, 2020 — Though disinformation is rampant online, there is still hope that social media companies can control it, said Ryan Calo, principal investigator at the Center for an Informed Public, in an interview on KUOW Public Radio Tuesday. While social media platforms have recently seen vast amou
X (Twitter)
President Trump’s Anti-Section 230 Executive Order ‘Radical,’ says Sen. Ron Wyden
June 3, 2020 — The actions that President Donald Trump has taken to punish tech companies for alleged anti-conservative discrimination are radical, said Section 230 co-author Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in an Aspen Institute webinar Tuesday. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects tech pl
FSF
Broadband Roundup: Economic Benefits of 5G, Lifeline Process Streamlined for Tribes, Maine’s Effort to Protect User Privacy
5G is an important driver of economic growth, wrote James Prieger, a professor of economic and public policy at Pepperdine University, in a report for the Free State Foundation Monday. Investments in 5G networks contribute directly to national GDP, creating jobs, accelerating business practices, and
