Moderator's dilemma
The moderator's dilemma is a problem with online communities that allow posting of user-generated content. In the absence of Section 230 protections, service providers are faced with two unappealing choices.
Moderator's dilemma
[edit | edit source]- Draconian moderation, exaggeration of mainstream opinions, stifling of dissent, or
- No moderation at all, lots of trolling, disruption, disinformation, and fringe beliefs
In scenario 1, service providers act like traditional publishers, with careful oversight because they take responsibility for the content.
In scenario 2, they act like common carriers (e.g. the phone company), with no control over the messages being passed around their system.
Section 230 was created to allow for a middle ground, where service providers would not be forced to choose between these two extremist positions.[1] They can remove inappropriate content, but this does not make them responsible for removing all such content.
“Section 230 eliminated the moderator’s dilemma with respect to many categories of content. It said you can try to moderate and fail, or you can not try at all or do anything in between, and the legal answer is the same.” - Eric Goldman[2]
Section 230 was enormously successful, resulting in an explosion of user-generated content. However, moderators continue to struggle with edge cases. More recent developments such as social media algorithms give them tools to deemphasize toxic content without deleting it or banning the authors.
As these decisions become more opaque and AI takes over, sometimes social media users can be "shadow-banned" without ever knowing it.[3] Many venues have become politically contested. There have been recent calls to repeal Section 230 because one side or the other does not like the moderation on a particular site.[4]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ https://magazine.scu.edu/magazines/2023/spring-2023/the-internets-last-true-believer/
- ↑ https://magazine.scu.edu/magazines/2023/spring-2023/the-internets-last-true-believer/
- ↑ Emmanuel Vargas Penagos, ChatGPT, can you solve the content moderation dilemma?, International Journal of Law and Information Technology, Volume 32, 2024, eaae028, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eaae028
- ↑ https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5723006-gordon-levitt-capitol-hill-section-230/