Taming the Internet Tiger (Editorial)

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The internet became ubiquitous about 25 years ago. Social media, 20 years ago. Few people would say civic discourse has improved since then.

One reason for the rise in extremism is the business model of the socially interactive internet. It monetizes hate, fear and, most particularly, rage. Attention equals clicks equals dollars. And what compels attention are the most primitive human emotions.

How do online forums get away with this? Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which protects internet companies from liability for what users say online.

Arkansas Business is held responsible for what appears in our pages. So are the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Wall Street Journal. Meta Platforms Inc., parent company of Facebook and with a market capitalization of $1.9 trillion, is not.

There appears to be bipartisan interest in Congress in taming the internet tiger by repealing Section 230. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, have expressed support for such an effort.

The devil, as always, is in the details. It would require extreme care — and bipartisanship — to craft legislation that would impose content responsibility on internet companies while protecting freedom of speech. But it’s an effort worth making.