Online extremism legislation advances in House

A House panel on Wednesday voted to advance a bill aimed at combating the scourge of extremist content online despite ongoing pushback from civil liberties groups and Republicans on the committee.

The House Homeland Security Committee unanimously voted to advance the National Commission on Online Platforms and Homeland Security Act, greenlighting one of the first legislative efforts to address internet extremism and bigotry after a string of mass shooters were tied to white supremacist online footprints this year.

“Through our oversight of the social media companies, it is evident that this is one of those areas where the private sector needs the government to be a convener,” committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said during his opening remarks.

The bill, which has undergone several drafts over the past few months, would create a 12-member bipartisan commission of experts to research “how online platforms have been exploited to carry out mass-casualty targeted violence” — including acts of domestic and international terrorism as well as “covert foreign state influence campaigns.”

That commission, with members appointed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress, would be tasked with drawing up a final report and recommendations around how social media companies can address terrorists on their platforms while still promoting “free speech.”