Section 230 and the International Law of Facebook

Anupam Chander
24 Yale J.L. & Tech. 393

Despite its local origins, Section 230 serves as a key architectural norm of the global internet: internet service providers are not typically responsible for the speech of their users. Section 230 underpins what we might describe as the International Law of Facebook— the global community guidelines written and enforced by internet platforms, largely allowing these platforms to regulate the speech on their platforms. Reviewing Section 230 cases involving foreign events, foreign parties, or foreign law, the essay reveals how Section 230 made the U.S. a safe home base from which to offer a global speech platform.