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Cannabis Website Attempts to Shield Itself From California Using Federal Law

posted by cmn32480 on Thursday March 15 2018, @10:28AM   Printer-friendly
from the weeding-out-the-bad-players dept.

takyon writes:

Cannabis website to California: Section 230 protects us from your demands

A popular cannabis community website, Weedmaps, which features ads and other listings related to marijuana businesses across the Golden State, has invoked a federal law as a way to stave off the ire of California's cannabis authorities.

Last month, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), the state entity that oversees California's newly legal recreational marijuana market, sent a letter to Weedmaps last month, saying that because the website allows ads for companies that are not officially licensed by the state, it is in violation of state law. (The spat was first reported by The Sacramento Bee.)

On Monday, Weedmaps executives responded with their own letter, saying that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that removes liability of a website for the actions of its users, acts as its shield. Digital rights groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation have argued that Section 230 is what protects the Web as a whole—publishers don't have to worry about being sued if one of their users is accused of violating the law.

A revision of the law is currently being proposed with the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, which, according to the EFF, would "punch a hole" in Section 230. The new bill is aimed squarely at Backpage, a notorious website that continues to allow prostitution advertisements.

Related: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - 20 Years of Protecting Intermediaries

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Thursday March 15 2018, @12:44PM (4 children)

    by cubancigar11 (330) on Thursday March 15 2018, @12:44PM (#652912) Homepage Journal

    We need a new country. Since we don't have one, I suppose we need to be rich and wait for Mars.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Thursday March 15 2018, @01:32PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Thursday March 15 2018, @01:32PM (#652925) Journal

    First God Emperor to ban a recreational drug on Mars: Governor 𝓔lon 𝓜usk.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 15 2018, @04:06PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 15 2018, @04:06PM (#652978)

    it would be nice if people would move into different states/regions with different laws, but it looks like we'll just stay all mixed up and fight about everything. wonderful.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday March 15 2018, @06:22PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Thursday March 15 2018, @06:22PM (#653035)

      You mean ... migrate ? Gasp!
      What kind of silly people would allow people to come in from other areas, where the culture is not perfectly identical?

      Also, we should always enforce the territory limits as they were drawn decades ago, regardless of actual people dynamics! Syria and Iraq say hi!

      [sobs quietly]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 17 2018, @04:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 17 2018, @04:03AM (#653947)

    But don't worry about funds for transportation once you're there; there's already a Tesla waiting for you.