Washington – The House Committee on Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications & Technology will hold a hearing on Wednesday to consider sunsetting a law Congress passed more than two decades ago that is largely responsible for the success of the open internet that Americans enjoy today. Commonly known as Section 230, this integral law, which works in tandem with the Constitution, grants digital services the ability to allow—or moderate—user content to respond to bad actors online or protect children.
Although disagreements exist on whether content moderation should be more flexible or stringent, these arguments precisely highlight the importance of maintaining Section 230’s protections. Content moderation decisions, which are extremely important to ensuring safe communities, would be devastated by a total repeal of the law.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President and CEO Matt Schruers:
“When policymakers cannot agree on whether companies are too aggressive or not aggressive enough when enforcing terms of service online, the solution is not to sunset the law that enables trust and safety professionals to protect users. We would like to see this hearing develop a better understanding of how Section 230 allows digital services to address dangerous content and content online.
“In the absence of Section 230, online communities will become more dangerous and less trustworthy, which neither users nor advertisers want.”