There are multiple laws protecting the Internet (companies and users alike) from potential legal issues. Over the years, some of these rules are being brought up again because of the changes in Internet usage.
One of these laws is called Section 230, and says “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” ( It’s become a recent controversial topic, with major figures such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifying before the US Senate about it.
For this assignment, you’ll read two articles: one in favor of Section 230, and one against Section 230.
Using the link below, read the following article in favor of Section 230:
- Question 1: Summarize the article; what does Section 230 do for major tech companies like YouTube and Facebook? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 2: What does Section 230 do for bloggers? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 3: Using the infographic in the article, list three of the issues of having Section 230 revoked.
Using the link below, read the following article against Section 230:
https://slate.com/technology/2019/10/section-230-cda-moderation-update.html
- Question 4: Summarize the article; how does Section 230 impact the average user? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 5: What is one of the proposals mentioned in the article to change Section 230? What would it mean for Section 230 if adopted? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 6: List three of the issues of keeping Section 230 as is.
After having read both articles, answer the following questions:
- Question 7: Which do you think is better for society, allowing more free speech for users, even though some of that speech will be false and harmful; or blocking potentially harmful speech, even though some of that speech is actually truthful and deserves to be heard? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 8: Should websites and social media platforms be responsible for blocking content after they receive a complaint? (3-5 sentences)
- Question 9: After having read both articles, are you in favor or against Section 230? Explain your position. (3-5 sentences)
