In U.S. law, the closest statutory term is “information content provider,” defined in Section 230 as a person or entity responsible, in whole or in part, for creating or developing information provided online. “Internet content provider” is often used informally, but it is not the term Section 230 defines—and the label alone does not decide a legal dispute.
The U.S. Section 230 definition
Section 230(f)(3) of the Communications Decency Act defines an “information content provider” as “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.” The definition appears in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
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In plain language, the term concerns responsibility for creating or developing the particular information at issue. It can apply to a person or an organization, and responsibility may be partial. Section 230 does not define “internet content provider” as a separate term.
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Section 230 separately defines an “interactive computer service” as an information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server. That category focuses on providing or enabling access; “information content provider” focuses on responsibility for creating or developing information.
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These are distinct statutory roles, not necessarily mutually exclusive labels for entire companies. The relevant question is what role a person or entity played with respect to the specific content and conduct in question. The statute supplies definitions, but whether a category applies and what legal consequences follow depend on the governing law, claim, and facts.
The phrase can mean different things in different jurisdictions
There is no single worldwide legal definition of “internet content provider.” For example, an Australian statutory compilation dated 5 March 2016 used the terms “internet content” and “internet content host” in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. In that compilation, “internet content” concerned information stored on a data storage device and accessed, or available for access, using an internet carriage service, subject to specified exclusions; “internet content host” referred to hosting such content in Australia or proposing to do so.
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That is a historical example of different statutory terminology, not a statement of current Australian law. For a legal question, identify the jurisdiction and consult the version of the relevant law in force there.
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Why older references to “content provider” may differ
A 1996 federal district court opinion used “content provider” broadly for an Internet speaker who transmits or makes content available, while distinguishing that general usage from Section 230’s defined term “information content provider.” The opinion, Shea on Behalf of American Reporter v. Reno, is historical context; it does not replace the statutory wording.
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