If America drops Section 230 or makes too many changes, the country’s future may look like Australia’s present.

• Here in America, Section 230 largely protects companies from posts made by others: But a recent court ruling in Australia leaves that country with no such defense, according to the NYT. After a controversial public figure saw mean user comments about him -- some of which were false -- on media outlets’ Facebook pages, he sued the media companies rather than the users. The court agreed the media companies could be held liable.  

• Now it’s open season on media companies and others: Because of the ruling, people can likely sue not only media companies but anyone who hosts social media pages. An admin of a popular Facebook group could be liable for posts made by users in the group. 

Facebook is already changing in Australia

News outlets say they have already switched their online strategies and will refuse to cover certain politicians or controversial topics on Facebook to avoid legal issues.

The Verdict

The ruling makes Australia an outlier when it comes to social media laws, but plenty of countries considering reforms will likely watch closely.