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Is a Web Host Immune from Liability under the Communications Decency Act?

This is Brian Hall, an attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, an internet law firm representing internet companies throughout the world.  Today, I will be answering the question:  Is a web host immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act?

So,  to start, the Communications Decency Act, sometimes referred to as the CDA, is a piece of legislation passed by congress in 1996.  It provides in the language of the Act itself 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.  What that means is that so long as the web host is merely providing the means by which someone can post content and display information to others on the internet, they will not be subject to liability in connection with claims related to, most importantly, defamation.

RSS Feeds: Does posting third-party syndicated content as an RSS feed on my web site create liability?

Question about the Communication Decency Act of 2006: "We publish RSS feeds on our community portal. I wanted to make sure that there were no rules or restrictions about syndicating RSS feeds on our site."

Answer:  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was added to the Communication Decency Act bill as protection for online service providers and users from actions against them based on the content of third parties. Section 230 states: "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". Section 230 seeks to immunize web hosts, ISPs and Internet users from liability for torts committed by third parties using their website or online forum. Providing notice to the "provider or user of an interactive computer service" does not change create any liability.

You can learn more about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in articles published by the Internet lawyers of Traverse Legal. For even more information about Section 230, visit the blog http://section230communicationsdecencyact1996.com. If you have a section 230 issue, contact one of the internet lawyers at Traverse Legal for a no risk consultation.