At Alphabet Inc.'s June 7 shareholder meeting, John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit that advocates for consumer interests, asked Alphabet and its subsidiary, Google, to back a change in an internet law that would allow victims of online sex trafficking to hold certain websites accountable. Kent Walker, senior vice president and general counsel at Google Inc., responded that the company wouldn't back the proposed change, adding that Congress got it right when creating the law.

For companies that rely on third-party content, Section 230 has provided pivotal protection. And for at least one other in-house lawyer besides Walker, any proposed change to the law is concerning.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides that websites can't be held accountable for content posted by third parties. “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider,” Section 230 says . The Electronic Frontier Foundation, pointing out that Section 230 has allowed the likes of Yelp Inc. to offer consumer reviews and gives social media platforms room to offer social networking, has said the law “is perhaps the most influential law to protect the kind of innovation that has allowed the internet to thrive since 1996.”