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What Is the Communications Decency Act? Definition and Section 230

The CDA is Title V of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Section 230 is one provision in that law, and the Supreme Court invalidated challenged indecency restrictions—not the entire Act.
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The Communications Decency Act (CDA) is the common name for Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It included online indecency restrictions and Section 230, a separate provision that remains in force and limits certain liability for content supplied by others and for some good-faith moderation decisions.

What the Communications Decency Act is

The CDA is a 1996 U.S. law, not another name for Section 230. It was enacted as Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and amended the Communications Act of 1934. Section 230 was enacted as part of that legislation, but it is codified in the Communications Act at 47 U.S.C. §230. The current U.S. Code gives Section 230 the short title “Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material.”

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What Section 230 does

Section 230 is best understood as a provision with distinct protections, not a blanket exemption from all legal responsibility. Its definitions cover interactive computer services and information content providers. An interactive computer service includes a service or system that enables multiple users to access a computer server, including internet access services and services operated by libraries or educational institutions. An information content provider is responsible, in whole or in part, for creating or developing information supplied through the internet or another interactive computer service.

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Third-party content: Section 230(c)(1)

Section 230(c)(1) says that a provider or user of an interactive computer service is not to be treated as the publisher or speaker of information supplied by another information content provider. The provision concerns third-party information; it does not mean every service is protected from every claim in every circumstance.

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Good-faith moderation: Section 230(c)(2)

Section 230(c)(2) separately addresses certain good-faith actions to restrict access to or availability of material the service considers objectionable. This moderation provision is distinct from the rule about third-party content in subsection (c)(1).

Statutory boundaries

Section 230 includes exceptions and savings clauses. Its text preserves enforcement of federal criminal law and addresses intellectual-property law, communications privacy law, and specified civil claims involving sex trafficking. Whether a protection or exception applies depends on the particular claim and facts; the statutory text and controlling decisions in the relevant jurisdiction matter for legal analysis.

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What happened to the CDA in Reno v. ACLU?

The 1996 Act included restrictions on transmitting or displaying indecent or patently offensive material to minors. In Reno v. ACLU, the Supreme Court held that the challenged restrictions violated the First Amendment: “The CDA’s ‘indecent transmission’ and ‘patently offensive display’ provisions abridge ‘the freedom of speech’ protected by the First Amendment.” — Supreme Court of the United States, Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), syllabus. The decision addressed those challenged indecency provisions; it did not erase Section 230 from the U.S. Code.

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Is the CDA the same as Section 230?

No. The CDA is the common name for Title V of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Section 230 is one provision included in that law, now codified at 47 U.S.C. §230 within the Communications Act. People often use “the CDA” to mean Section 230 in everyday discussion, but the terms are not interchangeable when describing the statute precisely.

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Was the entire Communications Decency Act ruled unconstitutional?

No. Reno v. ACLU invalidated the challenged online indecency restrictions, not the entire 1996 Act. Section 230 remains in the U.S. Code, subject to its statutory limits and exceptions.

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How to read claims about the CDA

  • If a statement says the CDA was struck down, check whether it means the particular indecency provisions challenged in Reno, rather than the whole Act.
  • If a statement calls Section 230 “the CDA,” distinguish the provision from the broader 1996 legislative title.
  • If a statement says Section 230 gives a website total immunity, check the specific subsection, claim, statutory exception, and applicable court decisions.

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