Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides that “[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,” and that “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.” A recent decision of the First Circuit has reaffirmed the broad protection this statute provides to bloggers and message board administrators. —Federal Court Reaffirms Immunity of Bloggers from Suits Brought Against Commenters (American Constitution Society for Law and Policy)
This is good news. Since I often blog about cases in which bloggers get in trouble for what they post online, it’s only fair to use this space to publicize legal precedents which support the blogosphere. Note, of course, that this ruling is about people who post comments on blogs, not about the people who post the initial entries.