Third Circuit Takes An Anti-Platform View In Interpreting The Communications Decency Act, Creating A Circuit Split

Since the emergence of the internet nearly four decades ego, the United States has sought to promote the freedom of the internet domestically and abroad. In the early 1990s, Congress enacted laws that aimed to promote the internet and foster the still largely unregulated free market online while at the same time placing restrictions on some objectionable conduct.

The 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) is one such law. Recognizing the need for rapid and free communications, the CDA bars attempts to treat website platforms as publishers or speakers of the content spoken by others and allows platforms to make their own moderation decisions. Section 230(c) of the CDA creates a statutory immunity for platforms with respect to lawsuits arising out of the information posted by another content provider. This immunity is not unlimited, however. Subsection 230(e) carves out five limitations, including that "nothing in [section 230] shall be construed to limit or expand any