This document discusses Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the context of cyber civil rights and terrorism. It provides background on Section 230, which shields internet platforms from liability for content posted by third parties. There is debate around whether certain content, like terrorism or sex trafficking, should be outside the scope of Section 230 immunity. The document also examines recent split court decisions on this issue and assesses Section 230 after 20 years of application. An appendix lists additional resources on related cases and topics.

1. CDA Section 230
in the Age of Cyber Civil Rights and Terrorism
Eric Goldman
Professor of Law and Co-director of the High Tech Law Institute
Santa Clara University School of Law
Chris Kelly
Safer California Foundation
Kelly Investments
Moderator
Bennet Kelley
Internet Law Center

2. CHRIS KELLY
CHRIS KELLY is a Silicon Valley attorney with a long track record of building
innovative companies and making the Internet a safer place for kids and adults
alike. As the first Chief Privacy Officer, General Counsel, and Head of Global Public
Policy for Facebook, Chris helped the company grow from its college roots to the
ubiquitous communications medium that it is today. Chris’ development of the
site’s safety and security policies around real world identity and deployment of a
highly-trained staff for rule and law enforcement are credited as critical elements
in the company’s success.
Chris left Facebook in 2009 to seek the Democratic nomination for Attorney
General of California, garnering 16 percent of the vote in a seven-way race, his first
run for statewide office. Since the June 2010 primary, he has become an active
investor in companies seeking transformational improvements in technology,
media, and finance. Currently, he serves as Chair of Fandor, a streaming media
company focused on independent film and visual expression, and Executive Vice
Chair of LOYAL3, a financial services company, both based in San Francisco.
In 2013, Chris joined a group of California investors who purchased the
Sacramento Kings of the NBA. As a member of the group’s executive board, Chris
contributes his expertise in technology and management to basketball operations
as well as the team’s development of the Golden1 Center, which will be the most
advanced arena in sports when it opens in October 2016.
As an attorney in private practice before his time at Facebook, Chris represented
Netscape in the Microsoft antitrust case and Diamond Multimedia in the
groundbreaking suit over the MP3 player that furthered personal use rights over
digital content. Chris received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown
University, a master’s degree from Yale University, and his law degree from
Harvard University. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors for the San
Francisco 49ers Academy, an alternative public middle school in East Palo Alto, and
as Chair of the New Leaders Council, a nationwide leadership training program for
young progressives..
@thatchriskelly

3. ERIC GOLDMAN
Eric Goldman is a Professor of Law,
and Co-Director of the High Tech Law
Institute, at Santa Clara University
School of Law.
Before he became a full-time
academic in 2002, he practiced
Internet law for 8 years in the Silicon
Valley.
His research and teaching focuses on
Internet, IP and advertising law
topics, and he blogs on these topics
at the Technology & Marketing Law
Blog [http://blog.ericgoldman.org] @ericgoldman

4. “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“.
SECTION 230, COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT

5. THE POLICY BEHIND CDA SECTION 230
• The Congress finds the following: (1)The rapidly
developing array of Internet and other
interactive computer services available to
individual Americans represent an extraordinary
advance in the availability of educational and
informational resources to our citizens.
• (3)The Internet and other interactive computer
services offer a forum for a true diversity of
political discourse, unique opportunities for
cultural development, and myriad avenues for
intellectual activity.
• (b)It is the policy of the United States—(1)to
promote the continued development of the
Internet and other interactive computer services
and other interactive media;
• (2)to preserve the vibrant and competitive free
market that presently exists for the Internet and
other interactive computer services, unfettered
by Federal or State regulation;
#magna_carta
#calbarIPsection
#cda230

6. GETTING AROUND SECTION 230
Not Interactive Computer
System
Distributor Liability
Moderator
Super-User Liability
Promissory Estoppel
Partial Responsibility for
Content Development
Site Marketing
or Text Claim,
Failure to Warn *
Design Site to Require
Illegal Content
Federal IP Claim
Federal Criminal
Conspiracy Prosecution
* On Appeal

7. QUESTION:
Should certain
content or conduct
be outside the
scope of CDA
immunity?

8. TERRORISM

9. TWITTER NOT LIABLE
FOR TERRORIST TWEETS
Fields v. Twitter, Inc., 2016 WL
4205687 (N.D. Cal. August 10,
2016)
• Section 230 Immunity Applies.
• Tried to avoid Section 230 by
arguing Twitter was liable for
provision of accounts to terrorist
groups but there is no causation
without publication.
• Several other cases pending.

10. SEX TRAFFICKING

11. SPLIT DECISIONS
• Backpage’s advertisement posting rules
were not simply neutral policies
prohibiting or limiting certain content but
were instead “specifically designed … so
that pimps can continue to use
Backpage.com to traffic in sex.” J.S. v.
Village Voice Media Holdings, 359 P. 3d
714 (Wash. 2015).
• “[C]laims that a website facilitates illegal
conduct through its posting rules
necessarily treat the website as a
publisher or speaker of content provided
by third parties and, thus, are precluded
by section 230(c)(1). Jane Doe No. 1 v.
Backpage.com, LLC, 817 F.3d 12 (1st Cir.
2016).

12. REVENGE PORN OR HATE SPEECH?

13. ASSESSING CDA 230 AFTER 20 YEARS

14. APPENDIX

15. • The Internet Rallies Against A Terrible
Section 230 Ruling–Hassell v. Bird
• Section 230 Immunizes Twitter From
Liability For Isis’s Terrorist Activities–
fields v. Twitter
• WTF Is Going On With Section 230?–
Cross v. Facebook
• Yelp Forced To Remove Defamatory
Reviews–Hassell v. Bird
• Message Board Operator May Be
Liable For Moderator’s Content–
enigma v. Bleeping
OTHER SOURCES
Tiny Iowa County Takes on the King
of Online Defamation
The Internet Of Garbage
Hate Crimes in Cyberspace
Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the
Internet

16. BENNET KELLEY
Bennet is the founder of the Internet Law Center
in Santa Monica and the host of Cyber Law &
Business Report on Cranberry Radio.
In 2014, he was named one of the Most
Influential Lawyers in Digital Media and E-
Commerce by the Los Angeles Business Journal;
and was selected by the U.S. Department of
Commerce to present on U.S. E-Commerce Law
as part of the 2012 U.S.-China Legal Exchange.
Bennet is Chair of the IP Section’s Technology,
Internet and Privacy Interest Group. He
previously was Co-Chair of the Business Law
Section’s Cyberspace Committee where he led
the effort to develop a primer on Cyberspace Law
for state policymakers. @InternetLawCent