Section 230 & the First Amendment | Leave A Decent Comment

When politicians and big tech clash over political bias, fake news, and content moderation, who wins? How best do we preserve free speech online?

At the heart of this battle is a once-obscure section of an unpopular law from the 90s that, arguably, brought the Internet out of the wild west and made it what it is today. Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act has been in the news a lot, but what the heck is it? Why do some people argue it gives a voice to the powerless while others say it allows giant corporations to stifle free speech? And how will the outcome of this fight affect YOU?

In this episode of the FedSoc Films Podcast, we talk to Congressman Chris Cox, who represented California from 1989-2005 and was the co-author of Section 230, about how Section 230 relates to the First Amendment. Congressman Cox was featured in our film, Leave a Decent Comment, where we discussed many issues around Section 230, but we wanted to give more time to the important issue of freedom of speech on the internet.

Thanks again for listening to the FedSoc Films Podcast! Be sure to rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform.

Watch the full film, Leave a Decent Comment: Section 230 & the Fight for the Future of the Internet, here:
https://youtu.be/fe7QfpjcqMU

Learn more about Rep. Chris Cox at https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/C/COX,-Charles-Christopher-(C000830)/

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

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