Section 230 Explained: What Actually Shields Platforms From Liability, and What Doesn't
Twenty-six words, written in 1996, are the reason a comment section, a marketplace listing, and a search result don't make the platform hosting them legally responsible the way a newspaper is responsible for what it prints. That shield has real limits, and courts are testing them more than ever.
Ravindra Valand
August 1, 2026
5 min read