A provision of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that encourages Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to voluntarily helps its customers by providing technology (such as filters) to restrict access to the availability of online materials that are obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, harassing, or excessively violent. ISPs are bound to notify their customers of parental protections that are commercially available that will help them limit access of harmful materials to minors.
Published in Chapter:
30 of the Communications Decency Act: How ISPs and Users are Legally Exempted from Offensive Materials
Joshua Azriel (Kennesaw State University, USA)
Copyright: © 2010
|Pages: 9
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-368-5.ch032
Abstract
As a federal law, the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) criminalizes any offensive content posted on a computer server that is operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The law exempts ISPs and other “users” from any liability for the illegal content that is posted by third parties as long as they make a “good faith” effort to restrict the information. Plaintiffs, who claim to be victims of offensive messages and sued ISPs, consistently lost their court cases. District and appellate courts have upheld Section 230’s provisions and Congress’s authority to regulate in this area of online communication. The CDA applies to many forms of Internet communication; for example, websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, wikis, and blogs. This chapter reviews the law, examines how federal and state courts have interpreted the CDA regarding ISPs, describes under what conditions an ISP can be held responsible for illegal content, analyzes the “user” portion of the law, and presents the legal dangers of providing immunity for “users” who post illegal content online.