Platforms have right to moderate but no more Section 230 alibi

When I first got on the internet in 2001 it was amazing – a part of life that was free of rules, open and devoid of government.

The internet has since left those early days as the real world has found its way there.

There are still some relics of the old days in US law such as Section 230 that enables tech platforms to not be held responsible for the content of their users.

However platforms have a right to moderate users – they are private companies after all. But they can not have their cake and eat it. If you moderate users then you will also be held responsible for their content as well.

However while standalone platforms like Twitter can ban their users, it becomes worrisome if infrastructure companies like AWS also exercise that same right as they did with Parler.

So AWS kicked off Parler because of content by users of Parler. Then what stops AT&T etc and other ISPs from kicking off internet users simply because of the content they exchange.

At the most notify the authorities over dangerous content but for AWS to admit going through server content begs the question of the true extent of privacy or what is left of it on the internet.

The internet has become the real world , let those lovers of free space find a new zone to slither to.

The free internet is dead.