For Platform Regulation Congress Should Use a European Cheat Sheet

(This op-ed was first published in The Hill on January 15, 2021.)

Daphne Keller

Last year was a crazy year for internet platform regulation. Congress introduced over 20 separate bills to amend a key U.S. internet law: Communications Decency Act Section 230, better known as CDA 230. CDA 230 protects platforms ranging from Facebook to online retailers and hobbyist blogs, largely shielding them from liability for user content and giving them leeway to moderate that content.

While CDA 230 has attracted criticism from across the political spectrum, many of the 2020 “reform” bills were arguably some combination of unseriousundemocratic and unconstitutional — and ultimately had little chance of success.

(Continue reading the op-ed on The Hill’s page here.)

Daphne Keller is fellow and lecturer in law at Stanford Law School. She was previously associate general counsel for Google.