Description: Jeff Kosseff, the author of a new book on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, explains how a 26-word rule created the internet as we know it and how it’s being applied now.
The Verge homepage The Verge homepage The Verge The Verge logo. / Tech / Reviews / Science / Entertainment / More Menu Expand The Verge The Verge logo. Menu Expand Interview Why the internet’s most important law exists and how people are still getting it wrong The author of a new book on Section 230 says it doesn’t matter if you’re a publisher or a platform By Adi Robertson , a senior tech and policy editor focused on VR, online platforms, and free expression. Adi has covered video games, biohacking, and mo
Share this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is one of the internet’s most important and most misunderstood laws. It’s intended to protect “interactive computer services” from being sued over what users post, effectively making it possible to run a social network, a site like Wikipedia, or a news comment section. But in recent years, it’s also become a bludgeon against tech companies that critics see as abusing their power through political bias or e
But that’s just not what happened, says US Naval Academy professor Jeff Kosseff, author of the recent book The Twenty-Six Words that Created the Internet . Twenty-Six Words is a nuanced and engaging look at the complicated history of Section 230, which was put forward as an alternative to heavy-handed porn regulation and then turned into a powerful legal shield through a series of court rulings.