PERFORMATIVE MEDIA POLICY: SECTION 230’S EVOLUTION FROM FOOTNOTE TO LOYALTY OATH

Authors

  • Aram Sinnreich American University, United States of America
  • Patricia Aufderheide American University, United States of America
  • Neil W. Perry American University, United States of America

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12242

Keywords:

internet governance, platform regulation, section 230, law and society, public opinion

Abstract

This study examines the legislative evolution of Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, a widely discussed and frequently misunderstood dimension of American telecommunications policy that provides a “safe harbor” provisionally shielding internet companies from liability for law-breaking content published by third parties who use their platforms and networks. Though this provision originated in the mid-1990s as an effort to minimize the legal and economic risks facing fledgling internet startups, we argue that efforts to reform it during the Trump era reflected an unprecedented transformation of an arcane policy point into a highly public subject for “messaging bills” intended principally to signal political loyalty to the president.

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Published

2021-09-15

How to Cite

Sinnreich, A., Aufderheide, P., & Perry, N. W. (2021). PERFORMATIVE MEDIA POLICY: SECTION 230’S EVOLUTION FROM FOOTNOTE TO LOYALTY OATH. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12242

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Section

Papers S