WASHINGTON, DC -- Attorney General Bill Barr hosted a workshop to look at immunity given to tech companies on the Internet.
Barr said Section 230, “was a topic that has garnered significant attention over the past year,” at a workshop titled, “DOJ Workshop on Section 230: Nurturing Innovation or Fostering Unaccountability?”
Barr said in his opening remarks that no one envisioned 24 years ago that a few tech companies would control so much of the Internet.He said there are many issues worth looking at, including how the law allows some to target children and conduct illegal activities.
“A driving motivation behind our broader perspective, including Section 230, is the need for the department’s enforcement efforts to keep up with rapidly changing technological landscape around us. Technological change over the past few decades has led to groundbreaking innovations and tremendous benefits to the economy and to consumers,” Barr said.
Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act passed in 1996 says no provider or user of a computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of information added by another content provider.
“At the same time, criminals and bad actors now use technology to facilitate and expand the scope of their wrongdoing and the victimization of our fellow citizens. The department has a responsibility to keep up with changes in technology to protect citizens from new harms, while at the same time preserving benefits.”