There have been reports that an Executive Order (EO) in the United States will force that government to reconsider the 'safe harbour' provisions in the Communications Decency Act, a provision known as section 230. Basically, it says that the carrier of a message is not responsible for the content of the message, not even if they take steps to ensure that their services are used legally and responsibly. It's the same provision that protects the post office, the telephone company and the cable provider: it's the sender of the message that is liable, not the communications channel. Right now, social media such as Twitter and Facebook (and pretty much anyone who operates an online discussion forum) is protected by this provision; the EO could reverse that. Except, as Michael Geist points out here, it can't reverse it, as the safe harbour provision is enshrined into the international trade agreement. There are many reasons to dislike these trade agreements, but this is a reason to like them.
Today: 7 Total: 101 [Direct link] [Share]
