
CNBC has a new video “Who Regulates What’s Posted Online?”
The title sounds provocative and focused on today’s
situation with the problems created by COVID.
Actually, it goes back to the early days of Arpanet,
and then the monitoring of the National Science Foundation, which used to be
located downtown DC, then moved to Ballston in Arlington, and recently moved
again to Alexandria. The Internet largely opened up to the public in 1992, and
soon services like AOL and Prodigy were born and email became common (I started
using AOL in 1994). There had been a variety of bulletin boards and services
even in the 80s.
The video then goes on to discuss the Net Neutrality
idea, with the changes in 2016 and then with the Trump administration, where at
least there has been some paid prioritization but no shutoff or payola for
regular websites. A more pressing issue is providing access in rural or
underserved areas, now that so much work and education has been forced online
by Covid and this may remain so well into 2021.
The video discusses the 1996 Communications Decency
Act, with the attempt at censorship, struck down by SCOTUS in 1997, and the
part that survived, Section 230.
It is widely believed that Section 230 is necessary
for platforms and hosts, to operate at
all without liability from posters, but as a Jeff Kosseff explains in a new
book (“The 26 Rules that Created the Internet”) considerable case law involving
bookstores, and then early services like CompuServ and Prodigy, had established
some liability protection (as in Europe). But Section 230 allows platforms to moderate
content or even have a political bias without incurring liability for most
content. A recent controversial
Executive Order by Trump attempts to change that and remove the supposed “bias
against conservatives” (Wordpress post). Another good question would be, may platforms still "not" moderate content?
The video did not cover DMCA safe harbor (corresponds
to 230 for copyright).
The picture above shows the NSF in Ballston before the
Ballston Quarter renovations, which ironically now have to deal with Covid
after being completed.
Seriously, I would be concerned if the tech companies
will be able to able to keep up completely if everyone has to do all school
online next fall, or if there are any more long-lasting complete
lockdowsn. When some people have to work
in grocery stories, YouTube can become a frivolous luxury and that point
worries me.
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