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The Possible Redundancy of §230
Law Faculty Popular Media
  • Brian L. Frye, University of Kentucky College of Law
Abstract

Both fans and foes of Zeran v. America Online, Inc. (4th Cir. 1997) assume that its interpretation of §230 changed the scope of liability for ISPs under the common law republication rule. Many commentators believe Zeran “saved the internet” by enabling ISPs to permit unfiltered speech. But others argue Zeran misinterpreted §230, which was intended to encourage ISPs to filter speech. I think Zeran reached the right result, whatever Congress intended §230 to accomplish, because AOL wasn’t liable under the common law rule, either.

Document Type
Commentary
Publication Date
11-10-2017
11-22-2017
Disciplines
Notes/Citation Information

Brian L. Frye, The Possible Redundancy of §230, The Recorder (Nov. 10, 2017), https://www.law.com/therecorder/sites/therecorder/2017/11/10/the-possible-redundancy-of-§230/?slreturn=20171014161950. [http://perma.cc/FUW5-UHFB]

Citation Information
Brian L. Frye. "The Possible Redundancy of §230" (2017)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brian_l_frye/33/