Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: How the law that created the modern Internet may be destroying it, and us.
Warning: this episode contains swear words, frank discussions about sex and suicide. Discretion advised.
Matthew Herrick was sitting on his stoop in Harlem when something weird happened. Then, it happened again. And again. It happened so many times that it became an absolute nightmare—a nightmare that haunted his life daily and flipped it completely upside down.
What stood between Matthew and help were 26 little words. These 26 words, known as Section 230, are the core of an Internet law that coats the tech industry in Teflon. No matter what happens, who gets hurt, or what harm is done, tech companies can’t be held responsible for the things that happen on their platforms. Section 230 affects the lives of an untold number of people like Matthew, and makes the Internet a far more ominous place for all of us. But also, in a strange twist, it’s what keeps the whole thing up and running in the first place.
Why do we have this law? And more importantly, why can’t we just delete it?
Episode Segments:
00:00 Intro
01:26 The Gay Zombies
12:00 Elie Mystal explains Section 230
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🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
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Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Guests in this episode include: Matthew S. Herrick, Elie Mystal, Carrie Goldberg, Chuck Epstein, Ron Wyden, Chris Cox
Photo illustration Jared Bartman
From the Radiolab podcast: How the law that created the modern Internet may be destroying it, and us.
Warning: this episode contains swear words, frank discussions about sex and suicide. Discretion advised.
Matthew Herrick was sitting on his stoop in Harlem when something weird happened. Then, it happened again. And again. It happened so many times that it became an absolute nightmare—a nightmare that haunted his life daily and flipped it completely upside down.
What stood between Matthew and help were 26 little words. These 26 words, known as Section 230, are the core of an Internet law that coats the tech industry in Teflon. No matter what happens, who gets hurt, or what harm is done, tech companies can’t be held responsible for the things that happen on their platforms. Section 230 affects the lives of an untold number of people like Matthew, and makes the Internet a far more ominous place for all of us. But also, in a strange twist, it’s what keeps the whole thing up and running in the first place.
Why do we have this law? And more importantly, why can’t we just delete it?
Episode Segments:
00:00 Intro
01:26 The Gay Zombies
12:00 Elie Mystal explains Section 230
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3trXDLe
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: radiolab.org/newsletter
🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: bit.ly/3sX8f4P
👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment!
Follow Radiolab:
Instagram — instagram.com/radiolab
Twitter — twitter.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Guests in this episode include: Matthew S. Herrick, Elie Mystal, Carrie Goldberg, Chuck Epstein, Ron Wyden, Chris Cox
Photo illustration Jared Bartman
