47 U.S.C. § 230 — Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material

submitted 92 years ago by Pub. L. 104-104 to r/title-47-TELECOMMUNICATIONS · 973 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

Congress found that the Internet has grown thanks to light government regulation and offers users control over what they see. As policy, the law protects online providers and users from being sued as the "publisher" of content someone else posted, and protects good-faith efforts to block offensive material. It requires providers to tell customers about parental-control tools, and it does not limit criminal, intellectual-property, communications-privacy, or sex-trafficking laws.

(a) Findings. Congress found five things: the Internet gives Americans huge access to education and information; it lets users control what information they receive, with even more control likely in the future; it supports diverse political and cultural discussion; it has grown well with only light government regulation; and Americans increasingly rely on it for political, educational, cultural, and entertainment services. (b) Policy. It is U.S. policy to: (1) keep developing the Internet and interactive services; (2) protect the free, competitive market for them from heavy federal or state regulation; (3) encourage tools that let users control what information they and their families receive; (4) remove obstacles to blocking and filtering technology that helps parents restrict what their children see; and (5) strongly enforce federal criminal laws against obscenity, stalking, and harassment done by computer. (c) Protection for "Good Samaritan" blocking and screening. No provider or user of an interactive computer service can be treated as the "publisher or speaker" of information that someone else posted. And no provider or user can be sued for: (A) taking good-faith action to restrict access to material they consider obscene, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not the material is legally protected speech; or (B) giving others the technical tools to restrict access to that kind of material. (d) Obligations of interactive computer service. When signing up a new customer, an interactive computer service provider must tell the customer that parental-control tools — like software or filtering services — are commercially available to help limit access to material that is harmful to minors, and must point the customer toward information about those tools. (e) Effect on other laws. This section does not limit: (1) enforcement of federal criminal laws about obscenity or child sexual exploitation, or sections 223 or 231 of this title; (2) any intellectual property law; (3) a state's ability to enforce its own laws that are consistent with this section — though no lawsuit or liability can be based on a state or local law that conflicts with this section; (4) the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or similar state privacy laws; or (5) civil claims and state criminal prosecutions tied to sex trafficking or promoting prostitution, as specifically listed in this subsection. (f) Definitions. "Internet" means the worldwide network of connected computer networks. "Interactive computer service" means any service or system, including libraries and schools, that lets multiple users access a computer server, including Internet access. "Information content provider" means anyone responsible, even partly, for creating or developing information provided online. "Access software provider" means software or tools that filter, screen, pick, analyze, or transmit, forward, or otherwise handle online content.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a) Findings

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.

(2)

These services offer users a great degree of control over the information that they receive, as well as the potential for even greater control in the future as technology develops.

(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.

(4)

The Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation.

(5)

Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment services.

(b) Policy

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;

(3)

to encourage the development of technologies which maximize user control over what information is received by individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive computer services;

(4)

to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children’s access to objectionable or inappropriate online material; and

(5)

to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer.

(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker

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.

(2) Civil liability

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of—

(A)

any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected; or

(B)

any action taken to enable or make available to information content providers or others the technical means to restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).1

(d) Obligations of interactive computer service

A provider of interactive computer service shall, at the time of entering an agreement with a customer for the provision of interactive computer service and in a manner deemed appropriate by the provider, notify such customer that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist the customer in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Such notice shall identify, or provide the customer with access to information identifying, current providers of such protections.

(e) Effect on other laws

(1) No effect on criminal law

Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of this title, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, or any other Federal criminal statute.

(2) No effect on intellectual property law

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or expand any law pertaining to intellectual property.

(3) State law

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this section. No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.

(4) No effect on communications privacy law

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or any of the amendments made by such Act, or any similar State law.

(5) No effect on sex trafficking law

Nothing in this section (other than subsection (c)(2)(A)) shall be construed to impair or limit—

(A)

any claim in a civil action brought under section 1595 of title 18, if the conduct underlying the claim constitutes a violation of section 1591 of that title;

(B)

any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a violation of section 1591 of title 18; or

(C)

any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a violation of section 2421A of title 18, and promotion or facilitation of prostitution is illegal in the jurisdiction where the defendant’s promotion or facilitation of prostitution was targeted.

(f) Definitions

As used in this section:

(1) Internet

The term “Internet” means the international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data networks.

(2) Interactive computer service

The term “interactive computer service” means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.

(3) Information content provider

The term “information content provider” means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.

(4) Access software provider

The term “access software provider” means a provider of software (including client or server software), or enabling tools that do any one or more of the following:

(A)

filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;

(B)

pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or

(C)

transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.

Source credit: (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 230, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title V, § 509, Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 137; amended Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title XIV, § 1404(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–739; Pub. L. 115–164, § 4(a), Apr. 11, 2018, 132 Stat. 1254.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1934Enacted · Pub. L. 104-104 · 110 Stat. 137
1998Amended · Pub. L. 105-277 · 112 Stat. 2681
2018Amended · Pub. L. 115-164 · 132 Stat. 1254

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 104-104 on 1934-06-19.

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