38 Advocacy Organizations Sign Joint Letter in Defense of Section 230

As the Senate prepares to debate the future of Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) and 37 other diverse advocacy organizations have signed a joint letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law; and Ranking Member Senator Josh Hawley. This letter reminds those discussing Section 230 of its crucial role in enabling free and open speech online.

Section 230 reads:

“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.”
(47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1)).

The letter we signed reads in part:
“In policy conversations, Section 230 is often portrayed by critics as a protection for a handful of large companies. In practice, it’s a protection for the entire Internet ecosystem. It is what enables anyone—from a multi-billion-dollar Internet company, to a small startup, to a non-profit, to a single Internet user—to create a space for communities to gather online. Because of Section 230, people have more ways, places, and opportunities to connect than ever before.”

This letter, which you can read in its entirety here, has also been sent to the press.

The Signatories:
Access Now
ACT | The App Association
American Civil Liberties Union
American Library Association
Association of Research Libraries
Authors Alliance
Center for American Entrepreneurship
Center for Democracy & Technology
Chamber of Progress
Computer & Communications Industry
Association
Connected Commerce Council
Copia Institute
Consumer Technology Association
Developers Alliance
Educause
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Engine
Prof. Eric Goldman
Fight for the Future
Freedom House
INCOMPAS
Internet Infrastructure Coalition
Internet Society
Internet Works
IP Justice
NetChoice
New America’s Open Technology Institute
OfferUp
Organization for Transformative Works
Patreon
PEN America
Progressive Policy Institute
Public Knowledge
R Street Institute
Software & Information Industry
Association TechFreedom
TechNet
Wikimedia Foundation

Find Out More…

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