Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen and CEP Senior
Advisor Dr. Hany Farid released the following joint statement today in r


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CEP Applauds Justice Department’s Move To Limit Section 230 Legal Protections
For Tech Industry

(New York, N.Y.) – Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David
Ibsen and CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid released the following joint
statement today in response toproposed changes
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announced by the U.S. Department of Justice to roll back tech companies’ broad
legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
The Justice Department’s proposal is a legislative plan that would have to be
adopted by Congress and would, among other things, remove companies’ immunity
in cases involving terrorist content.

“CEP has long called for the removal of tech companies’ blanket protections
from liability for harmful content posted by third parties. The Justice
Department’s actions represent an important effort to instill a duty of care
and make online platforms more responsible for removing extremist and terrorist
content from their sites. Such measures are reasonable, extremely necessary,
and reflect a significant frustration with the tech industry’s ongoing
inability to consistently remove extremist content from their platforms. 

“For years, tech companies have made unfulfilled commitments to lawmakers,
advertisers, the media, and the public to improve their content moderation
policies. Instead of applying measures to stymie the spread of extremist and
terrorist material online, they have relied on public relations-driven spin
tactics and the blanket liability protections afforded to them by Section 230
to deflect, delay, and dissemble—all in an effort to forestall commonsense
government regulation. 

“The ongoing presence of extremist content online continues to prove that tech
companies are unwilling or unable to effectively control the horrific and
dangerous content that continues to proliferate on their sites. This was
especially prevalent in the New Zealand Christchurch shootings, in which the
attacker’s livestream video was uploaded and subsequently reuploaded millions
of times across the Internet. This action by the Justice Department is a
necessary step to update the legal framework that ensures both a functioning
internet environment and the safety and well-being of society.”

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