Government efforts to regulate different aspects of the Internet are intensifying across the world.
Many focus on making online services liable for the content that users produce and share—burdens that could prompt large and small Internet-based services and technologies to monitor, restrict, and censor our interactions online. We must encourage policy approaches that make the Internet more valuable to people, not less.
Why Is This Important?
A third-party entity or platform that facilitates communication, transactions, or interactions between users on the Internet is known as an Internet intermediary. These intermediaries connect people and facilitate the exchange of information, services, or goods. Various intermediaries exist, serving different functions in the digital ecosystem, from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), online marketplaces, and search engines to social media platforms.
Making all intermediaries liable for user-generated content would make many of them do things they aren’t supposed to do, such as removing security features so they can view or filter what their users say online. The pace of legislation targeting content moderation and access to web services and applications is accelerating. It’s reintroducing barriers to access, forcing changes in how we interact online and chipping away at the core elements that make the Internet valuable.
Drawing from real-world policies and best practices to highlight approaches that don’t harm the Internet and the ability of people to use it fully and securely.
Seeking input from our member community as well as national and legal experts.
Producing a forward-looking policy framework that governments and other stakeholders can use to inform national or regional policies and laws on intermediary liability protections.
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