Section 230’s Application to States’ Regulation of Social Media

Abstract

This is my written testimony from the California Senate Judiciary Committee Informational Hearing entitled “State of Social Media Regulation: Misinformation, Exploitation, Harassment, and Radicalization.” I discuss how 47 USC 230 limits state regulation of liability for third-party content online, what regulatory areas Section 230 leaves open, and some possible regulatory alternatives.

Keywords: Section 230, 47 USC 230, CDA, free speech, censorship, regulation, federalism, social media, facebook, liability

JEL Classification: h7, k2, k4, m38, o33