The first major challenge to Section 230 was in '' Zeran v. AOL '' , a 1997 case decided at the Fourth Circuit . The case involved a person that sued America Online ( AOL ) for failing to remove , in a timely manner , libelous ads posted by AOL users that inappropriately connected his home phone number to the Oklahoma City bombing . The court found for AOL and upheld the constitutionality of Section 230 , stating that Section 230 " creates a federal immunity to any cause of action that would make service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service . " This rule , cementing Section 230 's liability protections , has been considered one of the most important case laws affecting the growth of the Internet , allowing websites to be able to incorporate user-generated content without fear of prosecution . However , at the same time , this has led to Section 230 being used as a shield for some website owners as courts have ruled Section 230 provides complete immunity for ISPs with regard to the torts committed by their users over their systems . Around 2001 , a University of Pennsylvania paper warned that " online sexual victimization of American children appears to have reached epidemic proportions " due to the allowances granted by Section 230 . Over the next decade , advocates against such exploitation such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children pressured major websites to block or remove content related to sex trafficking , leading to sites like Facebook , MySpace , and Craigslist to pull such content . Because mainstream sites were blocking this content , those that engaged or profited from trafficking started to use more obscure sites , leading to the creation of sites like Backpage . In addition to removing these from the public eye , these new sites worked to obscure what trafficking was going on and who was behind it , limiting ability for law enforcement to take action . Backpage and similar sites quickly came under numerous lawsuits from victims of the sex traffickers and exploiters for enabling this crime , but the court continually found in favor of Backpage due to Section 230 , and the Supreme Court let stand a Circuit Court decision in favor of Backpage due to Section 230 in January 2017 . Due to numerous complaints from constituents , Congress began an investigation into Backpage and similar sites in January 2017 , finding Backpage complicit in aiding and profiting from illegal sex trafficking . Subsequently , Congress introduced the FOSTA-SESTA bills : the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act ( FOSTA ) in the House of Representatives by Ann Wagner in April 2017 , and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act ( SESTA ) U.S. Senate bill introduced by Rob Portman in August 2017 . Combined , the FOSTA-SESTA bills modified Section 230 to exempt services providers from Section 230 immunity when dealing with civil or criminal crimes related to sex trafficking , which removes section 230 safe harbors for services that knowingly facilitate or support sex trafficking . The bill passed both Houses and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on April 11 , 2018
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act