Internet Integrity: Fixing Section 230

 

To: NPR's The Indicator - April 22, 2021's "The 26 Words That Made The Internet What It Is"

Hosts:  Bobby Allyn, Shannon Bond,

This review of the Section 230 exemption of the internet from responsibility for mostly everything has been a recurring theme not just of late but for a couple of years now. What seems to be missing from any reviews and analyses of the Section 230 issues and problems is a perspective that the issues and problems are easy to solve. They have always been easy to solve. For the last 25 years, there have been solutions. Oh, and these solutions do not place the burden upon the companies that argued that there isn’t anything that they can practically do or should be expected to do; which they say because it is to difficult and impractical. Also, internet companies explain that they don’t want be placed in the awkward and inappropriate position of having to engage in “censorship”. These companies fail to mention that there is no requirement or necessity whatsoever that they engage in any form of censorship.

There may be many legitimate reasons for why the internet companies and their leadership hasn’t known that there are solutions, or for why they could not find these solutions. Just because there are solutions to a problem does not mean that everyone who is aware of the problem knows there is a solution. It could just be that they do not know. Now, not knowing is understandable but it is not a good look for corporate leaders. Even if they do not know themselves, they should know how to find out. It could be just a simple as asking, or in directing staff to find a solution.

Another insight into why the corporate leader couldn’t solve the problems could be that they may have been trapped in a preconceived or assumed approach for solving the problem. Given that perspective going in that restricted or distorted their ability to conceive of or recognize the simple and available solutions to the problem. This would just be a simple failure to have followed the well established STEM-oriented methodologies for solving problems. If there are twenty paths that might lead to a solution but you only look at two or three the solutions that you are looking for may not be found via those paths.

The corporate leaders and their technical organizations are not alone in failing to find the simple solutions. Congress and congressional committees have failed just a badly. Congress’s failure is much more understandable and to be expected. Members of Congress are not exactly proficient or experienced problem-solvers, despite there being a Problem-Solving Caucus in Congress.

At this point the news media should be asked: Why don’t you know about the easy solutions to the Section 230 related issues and problems? Has no one that the media has interviewed provided the easy solutions? Did the “The Indicator” ask?

What is solving the Section 230 problems worth to the nation, to the public, the government, and to the internet companies? Consider what the benefits are to resolving all problems and consequences that flow from the current state of affairs. Seems like just another terribly wasted opportunity.

As Congress, regulating entities, the internet companies, and various interest groups work to address all the ills that Section 230 has enabled through the normal process of unintended consequences, it is highly unlikely that the simple solutions will be derived. The answers that are available today will remain out of sight and out of mind. This is the real shame and problem of Section 230 and the harm it has enabled and promoted.