ISP Immunity Reaffirmed

Filed in archive Legal on January 25, 2007

In a case in my home state of Texas, a federal judge ruled that an ISP could not be held liable for content posted by another. The ISP claimed immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which gives ISPs a safe harbor as a passive provider of an open community service, such as an Internet forum.

ISP immunity is well-established. But this ruling is apparently the first in a civil suit where the content violates criminal laws, such as child pornography. The individual who posted the content has already been convicted.

Such immunity may transfer in a limited way to other passive Internet service providers, such as user-contributed web sites, torrent directory or search sites, and P2P networks, provided that the provider has no direct knowledge of, and does not actively contribute to or induce illegal activity, and that there is substantial non-illegal activity.