A recent Second Circuit decision makes clear that the safe
harbor that social media and other Internet companies enjoy under
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
broadly applies to a wide variety of claims.
When you think about the Section 230 safe harbor, don't just
think defamation or other similar state law claims. Consider
whether the claim—be it federal, state, local, or
foreign—seeks to hold a party that publishes third-party
content on the Internet responsible for publishing the content. If,
after stripping it all down, this is the crux of the cause of
action, the safe harbor should apply (absent a few statutory
exclusions discussed below). The safe harbor should apply even if
the party uses its discretion as a publisher in deciding how best
to target its audience or to display the information provided by
third parties.
