Washington Post

Child safety hearing puts key internet law back in Congress’s crosshairs

Senators of both parties are focusing their criticism on a law that Congress passed in 1996—a law that paved the way for social media as we know it. That law, said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), “needs to change.” The statute in question is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives online service providers broad immunity from lawsuits over their users’ posts, with the goal of promoting free expression online. Over the years, it has survived court challenges, legislative pushes, and an executive order by President Donald Trump. Now, it is in Congress’s sights once again.