Section 230 Immunity
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally immunizes online platforms from liability as the publisher or speaker of content posted by third-party users, including in defamation claims against the platform.
The immunity is broad but not unlimited. It shields platforms from being treated as the publisher or speaker of user-generated content, but does not immunize the platform for its own original content, and it typically does not apply to federal criminal law, intellectual property claims, or certain other statutorily carved-out categories.
Courts have generally held that a platform doesn't lose immunity merely by exercising traditional editorial functions like removing, editing for length, or arranging user content, though the line between passive hosting and materially contributing to unlawful content is heavily litigated and continues to evolve.
Juricratic treats Section 230 as a threshold immunity gate specific to platform defendants: when the claim matrix identifies the defendant as hosting third-party content rather than authoring it, the modeled claim-survival dial for the platform drops sharply at the pleading stage, distinct from the liability analysis applied to the original author of the content.
How it actually shows up
Counsel for a social media platform sued over a defamatory post made by a user moves to dismiss on Section 230 immunity grounds, distinguishing the platform's passive hosting role from the original poster's authorship.
- Does Section 230 protect platforms from all liability?
- No, it does not cover the platform's own original content, federal criminal law, or certain other carved-out categories such as intellectual property claims.
- Does removing or moderating content waive Section 230 immunity?
- Generally no, traditional editorial functions don't strip immunity on their own.
- Is the original poster of defamatory content still liable?
- Yes, Section 230 protects the platform, not the original author of the unlawful content.
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