47
U.S.C. § 230:
(a) Findings The Congress finds the following:
(1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other
interactive computer services available to individual Americans
represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of
educational and informational resources to our citizens.
(2) These services offer users a great degree of control over
the information that they receive, as well as the potential for
even greater control in the future as technology develops.
(3) The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a
forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique
opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for
intellectual activity.
(4) The Internet and other interactive computer services have
flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of
government regulation.
(5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for
a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment
services.
(b) Policy It is the policy of the United States—
(1) to promote the continued development of the Internet and
other interactive computer services and other interactive media;
(2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that
presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer
services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation;
(3) to encourage the development of technologies which maximize
user control over what information is received by individuals,
families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive
computer services;
(4) to remove disincentives for the development and utilization
of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to
restrict their children’s access to objectionable or
inappropriate online material; and
(5) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to
deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and
harassment by means of computer.
(c) Protection for “Good Samaritan” blocking and screening of
offensive material
(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker
No provider or user of an interactive computer service
shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any
information provided by another information content provider.
(2) Civil liability No provider or user of an interactive
computer service shall be held liable on account of—
(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to
restrict access to or availability of material that the
provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious,
filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise
objectionable, whether or not such material is
constitutionally protected; or
(B) any action taken to enable or make available to information
content providers or others the technical means to restrict
access to material described in paragraph (1).
(d) Obligations of interactive computer service
A provider of interactive computer service shall, at the time of
entering an agreement with a customer for the provision of
interactive computer service and in a manner deemed appropriate
by the provider, notify such customer that parental control
protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filtering
services) are commercially available that may assist the
customer in limiting access to material that is harmful to
minors. Such notice shall identify, or provide the customer with
access to information identifying, current providers of such
protections.
(e) Effect on other laws
(1) No effect on criminal law
Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair the
enforcement of section 223 or 231 of this title, chapter 71
(relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation
of children) of title 18, or any other Federal criminal
statute.
(2) No effect on intellectual property law
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or expand
any law pertaining to intellectual property.
(3) State law
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any
State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with
this section. No cause of action may be brought and no
liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is
inconsistent with this section.
(4) No effect on communications privacy law
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986
or any of the amendments made by such Act, or any similar State
law.
(5) No effect on sex trafficking law
Nothing in this section (other than subsection (c)(2)(A)) shall
be construed to impair or limit—
(A) any claim in a civil action brought under section 1595 of
title 18, if the conduct underlying the claim constitutes a
violation of section 1591 of that title;
(B) any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law
if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a
violation of section 1591 of title 18; or
(C) any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law
if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a
violation of section 2421A of title 18, and promotion or
facilitation of prostitution is illegal in the jurisdiction
where the defendant’s promotion or facilitation of prostitution
was targeted.
(f) Definitions As used in this section:
(1) Internet
The term “Internet” means the international computer network of
both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data
networks.
(2) Interactive computer service
The term “interactive computer service” means any information
service, system, or access software provider that provides or
enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server,
including specifically a service or system that provides access
to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by
libraries or educational institutions.
(3) Information content provider
The term “information content provider” means any person or
entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the
creation or development of information provided through the
Internet or any other interactive computer service.
(4) Access software provider
The term “access software provider” means a provider of software
(including client or server software), or enabling tools that do
any one or more of the following:
(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset,
organize, reorganize, or translate content.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 230, as added Pub. L.
104–104, title V, § 509, Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 137; amended
Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title XIV, § 1404(a), Oct. 21, 1998,
112 Stat. 2681–739; Pub. L. 115–164, § 4(a), Apr. 11, 2018, 132
Stat. 1254.)