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30 of the Communications Decency Act: How ISPs and Users are Legally Exempted from Offensive Materials

30 of the Communications Decency Act: How ISPs and Users are Legally Exempted from Offensive Materials
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Author(s): Joshua Azriel (Kennesaw State University, USA)
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 9
Source title: Handbook of Research on Social Interaction Technologies and Collaboration Software: Concepts and Trends
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Tatyana Dumova (Point Park University, USA)and Richard Fiordo (University of North Dakota, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-368-5.ch032

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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.

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