264

Tim Hwang

Circuit in Doe v. Backpage in 2016 allowed a site publishing ads for
prostitution to obtain CDA 230 immunity, noting that an online platform’s
decisions in “structur[ing] its website and posting requirements are publisher
functions entitled to section 230(c)(1) protection.”30 Such a line of reasoning
would seem to signiﬁcantly limit the holding in Roommates.com.31 These
differing applications of the rule raise doubts as to whether existing legal
precedent will be a stable basis on which to combat online political
disinformation (Feuerman 2016).
Social_Media_and_Democracy