Repealing Section 230 Would Endanger Free Speech On The Internet

Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1996 absolves online platforms of liability from third-party content posted by their users and protects them when they moderate content deemed harmful or hateful.

Multiple bills to repeal Section 230 have been proposed before Congress in recent years, to little success. While Big Tech names like Meta and X are obvious, smaller platforms would also be affected and likely far more negatively.

Wikipedia, local library networks, the internet archives, and many other websites most people, especially non tech-savvy lawmakers, may not be considering will also be included. This could spell disaster for platforms that don’t have the resources or infrastructure to survive.

A post on Bluesky from Senator Dick Durbin has faced a tumult of user responses. As I write this, it has 1,300 comments, 331 quotes, and only 71 likes. We like to refer to that as “being ratioed”.

The comments are chock full of users highlighting why a repeal of 230 could spell disaster for Bluesky. Here are a few:

I think you get the gist.

This bill would allow anyone to sue anything deemed a platform for libel, harassment, or whatever other cockamamey reasoning they could invent. The lawsuits would drown a site like Wikipedia or Bluesky who would not have the resources to fight back.

It would be a gift to Big Tech companies who do have those resources.

Furthermore, it would allow bad actors to use favorable judges to affect online speech. It would usher in a new era of online moderation in the name of “protecting” people from things they don’t want others to see.

Additionally, it would empower the federal government (currently run by two guys who own social media companies) to show favoritism to some (like the guys who run their own social media companies) while punishing all the other social media companies.

Imagine if, with an executive order, King Musk and Vice President Trump could decide what you’re allowed to talk about, what media you’re allowed to see, and what you’re allowed to say about it.

Repealing Section 230 could make all of that a reality.