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Glossary
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- Communications Decency Act (Section 230)search for term
- The Communications Decency Act section 230 (also known as CDA 230) is a law that automatically protects the people who create websites where user-generated content is posted. Traditionally, publishers of information like newspapers and magazines are legally liable if they reprint illegal content that is provided to them even if they didn’t write it. They are accountable for what they print under the theory that publishers have the ability, knowledge, and opportunity to exercise editorial control over the production of their product. CDA 230 changes that rule for website owners who publish information provided by third parties on their websites. For example, if User A posted defamatory comment about User B on Website X, CDA 230 will make it so User B can't sue Website X for publishing the information. User B would have to directly sue User A in order to get a legal remedy. CDA 230 doesn't provide immunity for violations of intellectual property law, criminal law, or communications privacy law.
Source: Citizen Media Law Project (Information protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License)
Visit the New Media Rights How-To-Guide about the Communications Decency Act Section 230
