FOSTA's Failure: The 2018 Sex Trafficking Law Has Been Worse Than Useless So Far
The only thing FOSTA has done is chill speech and make catching sex traffickers more difficult.
Section 230
Interpreting 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(2)
The statute immunizes computer services for "action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict ... availability of material that the provider ... considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected"—but what exactly does that mean?
Don't Try To Fix Big Tech With Politics
I don't know the correct level of content moderation by Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Amazon, and neither do you.
Section 230 Haters Aren't Going Away
Though Trump is gone, the desire to bend the internet toward partisan goals is alive and well.
Facebook's Oversight Board Was Right To Ban Trump
It's a working model for non-state governance in cyberspace that is vastly preferable to government control of social media.
Court Says Snapchat Can Be Sued for Deaths of Trio Using App During Fatal Crash
Plus: The challenges of free speech on Twitter, the case against baseball bailouts, and more...
'See Something, Say Something' Returns
A new bill repurposes the war on terror's pro-snitching mantra by requiring that tech companies share user data with the federal government.
How Press Freedom—and Section 230—Led to Derek Chauvin's Conviction
Imagine a world in which media outlets were unable or afraid to post video of police and other authorities acting reprehensibly.
Backpage Judge Accused of Bias Will Remain on Case
Plus: Effort to decriminalize psychedelics gains traction in California, crony capitalism at its worst, and more...
Justice Thomas Wonders When Supreme Court Will Have To Consider Social Media's Private Deplatforming Power
A moot case about Trump blocking tweets leads to concerns that tech companies have too much control over speech.
Government Censorship Is the Worst Cancel Culture of All
Politicians on the right and the left are coming for your free speech.
New Bill Would Empower Trolls, Make It Easier for States To Sue Tech Companies
Plus: Atlanta shooter blames "sex addiction," Maryland wants new occupational licensing requirements, and more...
The Texas Bill That Prohibits Social Media Censorship Is a Mess
The whole thing is arguably voided by Section 230.
These Big Tech Bills Are Unconstitutional. State Lawmakers Don't Care.
Plus: Problems with the PRO Act, what libertarian feminism isn't, and more...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants $100,000 Fines for Social Media Companies That Deplatform Politicians
It’s a terrible idea that violates Section 230, but is it actually unconstitutional? Don’t be so sure.
'See Something, Say Something Online Act' Punishes Big Tech for Not Snitching
Plus: Oregon decriminalizes hard drugs, Kroger closes stores over hazard pay rule, and more...
Might Federal Preemption of Speech-Protective State Laws Violate the First Amendment?
And, if so, what does this mean for 47 U.S.C. § 230?
Is the Great Deplatforming of 2021 an Assault on Free Speech?
No, says Techdirt's Mike Masnick, but it is cause for expanding Section 230 and building a more decentralized internet.
Mike Masnick: In Defense of Section 230 and a Decentralized Internet
Techdirt's founder wants to give end users, not politicians and tech giants, more control over what we can say and see online.
How To Respond to the Great Deplatforming of 2021
We need an open digital commons, where individuals maintain ownership of their own identities and where speech is highly resistant to political pressure.
FCC Won't Fulfill Trump Order for 'Regulations to Clarify' Section 230
Plus: Trump concedes on reinstated Twitter account, Cabinet resignations keep coming, and more...
Trump Gets None of His Demands in the Spending Bill but Signs It Into Law Anyway
Plus: Europeans are just as inclined toward "conspiracy thinking" as Americans, D.C. decriminalizes "drug paraphernalia," and more...
Suppressing 'Hate Speech' on Social Media Drives Users to New Platforms
The more that big social media companies act like they can control what people say, the more competition they encourage.
Lindsey Graham Says Trump Will Sign Spending Bill if It Takes Aim at Section 230
Plus: One in seven NYC chain stores closed, Columbus officers turned off body cams before fatal shooting, and more....
The Bipartisan Push To Gut Section 230 Will Suppress Online Speech
That's a high price to pay because some politicians are angry about a little Facebook moderation.
Visa and Mastercard Submit to Politicians Trying To Put the Squeeze on Pornhub
Neither company will accept charges for Pornhub purchases going forward.
FCC Head Ajit Pai on Section 230 and Free Speech
"I am pessimistic about where this goes in the future," says the outgoing chairman, who is stepping down in January.
Ajit Pai on Net Neutrality, 5G, and Why He Wants To 'Clarify' Section 230
The outgoing FCC chairman discusses 'light-touch' regulation and the future of free speech on the internet.
Sneaking Section 230 Reform Into the Defense Bill Is a Terrible Idea
Plus: Bar food police strike in New York, study finds COVID-19 circulating in the U.S. last December, and more...
Senators Once Again Berate Twitter and Facebook CEOs for Content Decisions They Dislike
But what one side likes, the other side hates. There's no way Twitter and Facebook can appease them both.
Meet Brock Pierce, the Drug-Legalizing Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur on the Presidential Ballot in 16 States
"I obviously identify with and resonate with and connect with my libertarian brothers and sisters on so many levels," says the controversial former child actor.
Twitter Blocking a New York Post Article Was Dumb—but Not Illegal, Censorship, or Election Interference
Plus: 898,000 new jobless claims, and more...
Trump Tweets 'Repeal Section 230,' Something He Couldn't Do if Section 230 Were Repealed
You want censorship? This is how you get censorship.
Section 230's Latest Attacker: The Justice Department
A new DOJ proposal aims to bring the internet communications law in line with Trump's personal interpretation of it.
New FCC Nominee Has Already Been Helping Trump Try To Censor Social Media
Plus: America's global prestige continues to drop, marijuana law enforcement is still racist, Wisconsin and Minnesota voters prefer Biden, and more...
FOSTA Is Unconstitutional, Argue Sexual Freedom Advocates and First Amendment Lawyers in New Motion
Plus: People have doubts about democracy, Washington state sues Juul, and more...
Democrats Hate Facebook. Republicans Want To Ban TikTok. The Bipartisan Backlash Against Big Tech Is Here and It's a Disaster.
Even as Americans rely on tech more than ever, our early-pandemic truce with the industry is officially over.
'The President's Speech Police': Trump Pushes Forward With Regulating Bias Online
Plus: The EARN IT Act is "a wolf in sheep's clothing," Joe Biden's "Agenda for Women," and more...
Twitter Boots 7,000 QAnon Conspiracy Theorists
Plus: Congress rejects demilitarization of police, Jorgensen polling at 3 percent, and more...
Lindsey Graham's Terrible Anti-Privacy 'EARN IT' Act Passes Senate Committee
This isn't a bill about fighting child porn. Don't fall for it.
Lawsuit Against 'Shitty Media Men' List Creator Can Proceed, Judge Says
Plus: Tech giants will testify in Congressional antitrust hearing, Seattle police clear out CHOP, and more...
Devin Nunes Can Sue Cow Account but Not Twitter, Says Judge
Plus: Time to cancel U.S. propaganda outlets, Twitch sued over sexy women, new Assange indictment, social-justice symbolism, and more...
Let's Stop Talking About Free Speech and Start Defending It
Don't lock down expression along with so much else of American society.
OnlyFans Didn't Save Sex Workers, Sex Workers Saved Themselves.
Camming sites foster autonomy and creativity, while eliminating middlemen and thwarting vice cops.
It's Hard To Take Either Side in Trump's Twitter Spat Seriously
The president promises penalties he has no power to impose, while the company promises moderation it cannot deliver.
Australian Court Rules Media Outlets Are Responsible for Facebook Users' Comments
Online censorship is coming, and it’s going to be bad news for everybody.
