Understanding Section 230 and Its Purpose

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, enacted in 1996, states that websites are not liable for third-party content. This means that the responsibility for the content posted online falls on the users rather than the platforms facilitating it. The rationale behind this law is to avoid the 'moderator's dilemma,' where platforms might either excessively moderate content to avoid liability or completely refrain from moderation, leading to a flood of harmful material. Ultimately, Section 230 aims to empower platforms to allow open conversation without bearing the legal risks that would stifle user-generated content.