Last month, Attorney General William Barr said, “valid questions have been raised on whether Section 230’s broad immunity is still necessary, at least in its current form.” But the attorney general and other critics should think twice before advocating for altering the crucial law.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was passed as a part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It shields online platforms from liability for the content posted by its users. In doing so, it allows platforms to alter or remove content without being categorized as a publisher and, therefore, liable for content the way traditional publishers are. The law was written to empower and encourage online hosts to create and enforce standards and rules for their platforms.