US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 47USC230]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
                     SUBCHAPTER II--COMMON CARRIERS
 
                    Part I--Common Carrier Regulation
 
Sec. 230. Protection for private blocking and screening of 
        offensive material
        

(a) Findings

    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other 
    interactive computer services available to individual Americans 
    represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of 
    educational and informational resources to our citizens.
        (2) These services offer users a great degree of control over 
    the information that they receive, as well as the potential for even 
    greater control in the future as technology develops.
        (3) The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a 
    forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique 
    opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for 
    intellectual activity.
        (4) The Internet and other interactive computer services have 
    flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of 
    government regulation.
        (5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for 
    a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment 
    services.

(b) Policy

    It is the policy of the United States--
        (1) to promote the continued development of the Internet and 
    other interactive computer services and other interactive media;
        (2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that 
    presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer 
    services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation;
        (3) to encourage the development of technologies which maximize 
    user control over what information is received by individuals, 
    families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive 
    computer services;
        (4) to remove disincentives for the development and utilization 
    of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to 
    restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate 
    online material; and
        (5) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to 
    deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment 
    by means of computer.

(c) Protection for ``Good Samaritan'' blocking and screening of 
        offensive material

                (1) Treatment of publisher or speaker

        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.

                         (2) Civil liability

        No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be 
    held liable on account of--
            (A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict 
        access to or availability of material that the provider or user 
        considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively 
        violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not 
        such material is constitutionally protected; or
            (B) any action taken to enable or make available to 
        information content providers or others the technical means to 
        restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ So in original. Probably should be ``subparagraph (A).''
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(d) Obligations of interactive computer service

    A provider of interactive computer service shall, at the time of 
entering an agreement with a customer for the provision of interactive 
computer service and in a manner deemed appropriate by the provider, 
notify such customer that parental control protections (such as computer 
hardware, software, or filtering services) are commercially available 
that may assist the customer in limiting access to material that is 
harmful to minors. Such notice shall identify, or provide the customer 
with access to information identifying, current providers of such 
protections.

(e) Effect on other laws

                    (1) No effect on criminal law

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair the 
    enforcement of section 223 or 231 of this title, chapter 71 
    (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of 
    children) of title 18, or any other Federal criminal statute.

             (2) No effect on intellectual property law

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or expand 
    any law pertaining to intellectual property.

                            (3) State law

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any State 
    from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this section. 
    No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed 
    under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.

             (4) No effect on communications privacy law

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the 
    application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or 
    any of the amendments made by such Act, or any similar State law.

(f) Definitions

    As used in this section:

                            (1) Internet

        The term ``Internet'' means the international computer network 
    of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data 
    networks.

                  (2) Interactive computer service

        The term ``interactive computer service'' means any information 
    service, system, or access software provider that provides or 
    enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, 
    including specifically a service or system that provides access to 
    the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by 
    libraries or educational institutions.

                  (3) Information content provider

        The term ``information content provider'' means any person or 
    entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or 
    development of information provided through the Internet or any 
    other interactive computer service.

                    (4) Access software provider

        The term ``access software provider'' means a provider of 
    software (including client or server software), or enabling tools 
    that do any one or more of the following:
            (A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
            (B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
            (C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, 
        subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, Sec. 230, as added Pub. L. 104-104, 
title V, Sec. 509, Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 137; amended Pub. L. 105-277, 
div. C, title XIV, Sec. 1404(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681-739.)

                       References in Text

    The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, referred to in 
subsec. (e)(4), is Pub. L. 99-508, Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1848, as 
amended. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title of 1986 Amendment note set out under section 2510 of Title 18, 
Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and Tables.

                          Codification

    Section 509 of Pub. L. 104-104, which directed amendment of title II 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) by adding 
section 230 at end, was executed by adding the section at end of part I 
of title II of the Act to reflect the probable intent of Congress and 
amendments by sections 101(a), (b), and 151(a) of Pub. L. 104-104 
designating Secs. 201 to 229 as part I and adding parts II (Sec. 251 et 
seq.) and III (Sec. 271 et seq.) to title II of the Act.


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105-277, Sec. 1404(a)(3), added subsec. 
(d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e).
    Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 105-277, Sec. 1404(a)(1), inserted ``or 
231'' after ``section 223''.
    Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 105-277, Sec. 1404(a)(2), redesignated 
subsecs. (d) and (e) as (e) and (f), respectively.


                    Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 105-277 effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1998, 
see section 1406 of Pub. L. 105-277, set out as a note under section 223 
of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 223, 231, 941 of this title; 
title 15 section 1127; title 18 sections 1462, 1465; title 27 section 
122b.