The Executive Order focuses largely on Section 230(c), Communications Decency Act (referred here as “Section 230”) Section 230 adds to the First Amendment, protecting websites that publish third party content from liability (e.g. defamation).
- This law’s most important and controversial section states that “No provider or user who uses an interactive computer service shall ever be considered the publisher or speaker of any information supplied by another information content provider.” It means that the author/user is responsible not for the content posted on the Internet but the platform where it is posted.
- This immunity from civil liability is higher than that enjoyed by traditional publications. It has enabled the Internet to be a platform for exponentially more speech than ever before.
- The Executive Order, although it doesn’t seem to have any legal effect immediately, requires the preparation and publication of a report about federal advertising expenditures on websites that publish third-party content.
- It also mandates the formation of a working party and the drafting of a model legislation. The orders ask all government agencies to examine how they interpret Section 230, the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and to think about preparing reports and developing model laws.
- Businesses that don’t allow third-party content to be posted on their websites are not affected.
- Businesses that allow third-party content to remain on their websites are unlikely to see any immediate changes as long as Section 230 is unchanged. If the Executive Order results in administrative or Congressional action that reduces or completely revokes Section 230 Protection, businesses that allow third-party content to be posted on their website (even customer reviews) could be subject to substantial increased liability.
Despite all the above, Section 230 was created to encourage service providers and others to regulate the dissemination of offensive material. Businesses may update their terms of service to make it clearer what third-party content they find objectionable. This can be done after posting.
Summarized from an article by Stubbs, Alderton & Markiles, LLP.
