CDA immunity and spam
There are new federal and California decisions questioning Section 230's grant of immunity to ISPs. A Seventh Circuit decision says Section 230 should be read narrowly — because its effect is to induce ISPs not to do anything to filter wrongful content. And the California court said that the immunity created by caselaw following Zeran is similarly questionable.
I have a feeling that we'll see more of this questioning of Zeran — not a good trend. ISPs have every reason to take down material that sullies their brand name, but cannot be held to a duty to monitor or screen.
Here's the text of the modified Burns/Wyden spam bill that the Senate passed unanimously on Thursday. Will spammers cooperate with a do-not-spam list? Is there something about the anonymity of email that fosters and supports spamming? Should we create communities that agree to a RBL-like death penalty for spammers? And if so, how would that penalty be enforced?
Comments
Got something to say?