Technology & Privacy – Timeline of Key Acts

As the internet and digital economy emerged, Congress passed laws to define the rights and responsibilities of platforms, users, and regulators. This timeline highlights the most important technology and privacy acts still shaping the online world.

Communications Decency Act § 230 (1996)

• Shields online platforms from liability for most user-generated content.
• Encourages moderation of harmful content in “good faith.”
• Foundation of internet free speech law, though highly controversial today.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA, 1998)

• Restricts websites and online services from collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.
• Enforced by the FTC, still the main children’s privacy law in the U.S.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA, 1998)

• Implemented international copyright treaties and created rules for digital media.
• Established notice-and-takedown system and “safe harbor” for platforms.
• Prohibited circumvention of DRM, fueling right-to-repair debates.

Why It Matters Today

These laws: