Rationalizing Internet Safe Harbors

Abstract

In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act in an effort to make the Internet off limits to adult speech. As part of that Act, Congress responded to concerns that Internet service providers that took efforts to filter out objectionable content would render themselves liable for defamation as publishers by passing section 230 of the Act. The safe harbors arose haphazardly and not always even intentionally. Against the arguments for standardization, some might claim that the differential treatment of safe harbors is desirable. The lack of standardization is problematic for several reasons. Changing United States law to standardize on a safe harbor will solve only part of the problem facing Internet intermediaries. Internet intermediaries need safe harbors. In the United States, they have such safe harbors for most – though not all–tort claims.

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