June 6th, 2024
FIRE recently recorded a podcast episode featuring Marshall Van Alstyne, Allen, and Kelli Questrom Professor in Information Systems, discussing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and its impact on online content moderation.
Many claim that the internet and its drastic expansion would not exist without this law, but others argue that Section 230 made the internet an increasingly toxic place, leading to real-world harms like bullying, drug trafficking, disinformation, and more.
“The challenge though, is that if the same kind of misinformation comes from half a dozen different parties, and that then is re-amplified by the platform, it’s hard to then find an individual responsible for it,” Van Alstyne adds.
The platforms aren’t always responsible for the information spread, rather the content happening outside the organization dictates these narratives.
