by Sasha Kliger*
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 confers broad immunity to interactive websites and social media companies for content third parties post on their platforms. This immunity, however, is not unbounded. In section 230, Congress included several exceptions to immunity, including an exception for intellectual property claims, section 230(e)(2). The broad wording of the intellectual property exception has led to confusion among circuits regarding what type of intellectual property claim should remain allowed under section 230: namely, whether state law claims and right of publicity claims qualify as laws pertaining to intellectual property as described in the statute. This Contribution argues that a close look at the language of the statute demonstrates that both types of claims should remain viable against social media companies, despite the general immunity outlined in section 230.