Picture the year 1996. You boot up your desktop computer—one that takes several minutes to load—while listening to the rhythmic screech and hiss of your modem connecting to the World Wide Web. Then you navigate to a clunky message board, such as AOL or Prodigy, to chat about your favorite pastimes, from Beanie Babies to the latest mixtapes.
At the time, a little-known law called had just been passed. The law—then just a 26-word document—laid the foundation for the modern internet. It was designed to protect “good samaritans” who moderate websites from regulatory action, placing responsibility for content on individual users rather than the hosting company.
Today, the law is still largely unchanged, even with the massive evolutionary jumps in internet technology and pushback from critics—now including CEO Marc Benioff.
During a discussion at the in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday—titled “Where Can New Growth Come From?”—Benioff criticized Section 230 sharply, stating the law stops tech giants from being held responsible for the risks posed by AI and social media.
“Laws like Section 230 in the U.S. need to be revised because these tech companies won’t be held accountable for the harm they’re essentially causing to our families,” Benioff said during the panel. The discussion also featured Axa CEO Thomas Buberl, President Ruth Porat, Emirati government official Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, and Bloomberg journalist Francine Lacqua.
With of children in the U.S. accessing AI and social media platforms, Benioff noted the legislation endangers the safety of kids and families. The billionaire asked: “What’s more important to us—growth or our kids? What’s more important—growth or our families? Or, what’s more important—growth or the core values of our society?”
Section 230 Acts as a Shield for Tech Companies
Tech companies have used Section 230 as a legal defense in cases involving user harm—including the 2019 lawsuit Force v. Facebook, where the ruled the platform wasn’t liable for algorithms that linked Hamas members after the terrorist group used the site to incite murder in Israel. The law could also protect tech companies from liability for harm caused by AI platforms, such as the creation of deepfakes and AI-generated sexual abuse content.
Benioff has been a vocal opponent of Section 230 since 2019 and has called for the law to be eliminated.
In recent years, Section 230 has faced growing public scrutiny as both Democrats and Republicans have become skeptical of the law. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump launched a wide-ranging review of Section 230. In May 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order that restricted tech platforms’ immunity after added fact-check labels to his tweets. And in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case involving Section 230, but decided it on other bases, leaving the law unchanged.
In an interview with in December 2025, expressed worry about the “guardrails” that have—and haven’t—been put in place for AI. He pointed out that when cars were first invented, it took time for speed limits and driver’s licenses to be established. For AI now, “we have the technology, we’re working out the norms, but the idea of ‘let’s just stay out of it’—I think that’s really bad.”
Anthony added that the decision to exempt platforms from liability “just hasn’t been good for the world. And I think we’re unfortunately repeating that mistake with AI.”
For Benioff, the push to repeal Section 230 is more than just an effort to regulate tech companies—it’s about shifting priorities toward safety and away from unbridled growth. “In this era of incredible growth, we’re obsessed with growth,” Benioff said. “Let’s make sure we use this moment to also remember that we stand for values as well.”