Zoe Lofgren: “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act stands for a very simple, powerful idea: a website should not be liable…”

“Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act stands for a very simple, powerful idea: a website should not be liable for the actions of its users. Because of section 230, we have the internet as we know it today. Also, because of section 230, the vast majority of websites can safely and effectively report and coordinate with law enforcement on various crimes, including sex trafficking, child pornography, and the like. Unfortunately, section 230 has been utilized by bad actors, including a notorious one, Backpage, to traffic in children and to exploit victims. Really, they are slavery victims. The underlying bill, H.R. 1865, puts a stop to that. As the Department of Justice has noted, it will allow for the prosecution of people who are trafficking in victims online. The Walters amendment, however, for the first time, would carve a hole in section 230 and make it actually more difficult than the underlying bill to prosecute traffickers online. By creating potential liability for ``knowing'' that a user is using their website for facilitating sex trafficking, the Walters amendment would create what legal experts call the moderator's dilemma. There is no obligation under law to moderate your website. In fact, if you have 2 million users or 10 million users, you really don't know what is being posted by your users.…”