Section 230: The Ultimate Guide to the Law That Shaped the Modern Internet

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This article provides general, informational content for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional legal advice from a qualified attorney. Always consult with a lawyer for guidance on your specific legal situation.

Imagine your local coffee shop has a large cork bulletin board. Anyone can pin up a flyer: for a garage sale, a lost cat, a political rally, or even a review of the coffee shop itself. One day, someone pins up a flyer that falsely accuses a local baker of using expired ingredients, causing the baker's business to suffer. The baker is furious and decides to sue. But who do they sue? Do they sue the person who wrote and pinned the malicious flyer, or do they sue the coffee shop owner for allowing the flyer to be on their wall? In the real world, you would sue the person who wrote the flyer. It would seem unfair to hold the coffee shop owner legally responsible for every single notice posted on their board, a space they provided for the community. Section 230 is the law that applies this same logic to the internet. It says that websites, apps, and online forums—the internet's “bulletin boards”—are generally not legally responsible for what their users post. This simple but powerful idea has become the legal backbone of the modern internet, from Facebook and Twitter to Yelp reviews and the comment section of your