The rationale behind the legal principle is that publishers can research, review and edit the content they publish whereas distributors often cannot easily do so for the content they distribute.

FORBES: What Is The CDA And How Can It Help You And Your Company Avoid Liability?

And by sharing their personal data with the websites they visit, they can receive content and product recommendations personalized to their own unique interests, which in principle is good for websites and users alike.

FORBES: How Social Login Is Changing Business--and Your Privacy

Many people have risen up to attack this principle based on the feeling that with micro-blogging and status updates on Facebook or Twitter, the barrier to content production is so low that the number would skew higher.

FORBES: Join The 1% And Become A Content Creator