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Events • February 26, 2026 

# *Section 230 at 30: The Past, Present, and Future of Online Speech and the 26 Words That Created the Internet* — Panel 1: Past: Section 230’s origins and early interpretations 

Thirty years ago, as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 230 became law. The law was the result of a bipartisan effort that saw the potential of the internet and sought to encourage innovation and opportunities for online speech. Thirty years later, the law remains crucial to users and innovators of all sizes; however, it has been criticized by both the left and the right.

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

![Eric Goldman-circle-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-01/Eric%20Goldman-circle-cropped.jpg?itok=vKJ-h5ie) 

##### Eric Goldman 

Associate Dean of Research, Professor of Law, and Co-Director, High Tech Law Institute, Santa Clara University School of Law

![Samir Jain-circle-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-01/Samir%20Jain-circle-cropped.jpg?itok=Wu0cFBNq) 

##### Samir Jain 

Vice President of Policy, Center for Democracy & Technology

![Jessica Melugin](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Jessica-Melugin%20Cropped.jpg?itok=27EAcJth) 

##### Jessica Melugin 

Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute

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](https://x.com/melugin_p) 

[![Thomas Berry](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-02/2025-10-16-Thomas%20Berry-sq_0.jpg?itok=SW7WagUw)](/people/thomas-berry) 

##### [Thomas A. Berry](/people/thomas-berry)

Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

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](https://x.com/Thomas_A_Berry) [ 

](mailto:tberry@cato.org)