For many of us, engaging with the worldwide web is something we do without a second thought. While we expect these public spaces to adhere to the law, in reality, they facilitate enormous amounts of dangerous illicit content every day. However, despite our constant wariness against internet dangers, there is little legislation actually addressing the issue. To understand why this is the case, we have to talk about Section 230.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was originally designed to nurture the growth of emerging internet platforms. The act provides broad immunity to online platforms from civil liability based on third-party content. This clause ensures the free and open flow of content, which has played a critical role in shaping online commerce and communication, creating an atmosphere where opinions and ideas can be shared at unprecedented speed and quantity.

Despite its benefits, Section 230 was written a quarter century ago and is now obsolete. A combination of widespread technological advancements since 1996 and the broad interpretations that courts have given Section 230 has left online platforms immune to repercussions regarding an assortment of illicit activity on their services. They are thus free to moderate content with little transparency or accountability. As such, companies do what they know best: cut corners.

Today, the consequences of Section 230’s framework are evident. With an account profile on social media, anyone can converse with thousands of other users at a time. Alyssa Currier Wheeler, associate legal counsel at the Human Trafficking Institute, said that in recent years, there has been a noticeable 11 percent growth of trafficking recruitment on social media. Despite this significant spike, social media companies still demonstrate a complete lack of accountability for the trafficking recruitment on their sites, which is further exacerbated by Section 230.

Furthermore, in 2023, NPR reported that for the first time in United States history, yearly fatal overdoses peaked above 112,000, with young people and people of color being the most affected. This can be linked to social media posts promoting drug use: the Drug Enforcement Administration found that drug traffickers advertise on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube using 24-hour posts to escape traditional community guidelines. In this manner, social media fuels the sale of drugs to young adults and children. Companies have no incentive to moderate malicious posts like these as long as they get clicks, and therefore revenue. It’s critical to stop the issue at its root by holding social media companies wholly responsible for the dangerous content produced on their platforms. If Section 230 is repealed, social media companies will finally be pushed to moderate criminal posts on their platforms in fear of costly lawsuits.

The main problem with Section 230 is that it relies on a broad application to fulfill its intended purpose of protecting companies. Unfortunately, as with many other laws with broad coverage, Section 230 is prone to being abused for its loopholes. A Supreme Court brief documenting Gonzalez v. Google LLC details that Congress’ efforts to combat sex trafficking have been thwarted by misinterpretations of Section 230. In 2016, the First Circuit held that the website Backpage.com was immune from liability under Section 230 for claims that it knowingly facilitated the trafficking of three girls. Congress responded to this decision by clarifying that Section 230 “was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that … facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts” and amended Section 230 instead of repealing. Yet, even after this amendment from Congress, courts have continued to cite Section 230 and dismissed trafficking cases based on the broad immunity interpretation. If the section still causes misinterpretations even after amending, the only path left is to repeal it completely.

When our laws fail to protect those most vulnerable in our population and instead shield the perpetrators from responsibility, something needs to change. Our generation of children and young adults is currently being denied a safe online experience and is constantly victimized by online criminals. It’s time that our legislation holds tech giants responsible for the crimes that they are facilitating.