Senate Republicans, DOJ target Section 230
Senate Republicans and the Justice Department unveiled proposals Wednesday that would scale back legal protections for social media platforms targeted last month by President Trump in an executive order.
The legislative and administrative moves take aim at a portion of a 1996 law that gives internet companies immunity from lawsuits for content posted on their sites by third parties and allows them to make “good faith” efforts to moderate content.
The provision, known as Section 230, has recently come under sharp criticism from the right, with Republicans accusing Silicon Valley of abusing the legal protection to censor conservative content.
In an attempt to erode some of those protections, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would make it easier for individuals to sue platforms that carry out improper moderation policies.
The Limiting Section 230 Immunity to Good Samaritans Act, co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Braun (Ind.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), would require companies to prove a “duty of good faith” in their content moderation in order to receive Section 230 protections.
Violating that duty would be treated as worthy of damages, entitling plaintiffs to $5,000 for each affected user, along with attorney’s fees.
The measure would apply only to “edge providers,” which the bill defines as platforms with more than 30 million users in the U.S., or 300 million globally, and with over $1.5 billion in global revenue.
The Justice Department also put forward a proposal Wednesday, urging Congress to dramatically reduce Section 230’s scope.
The proposal would deny Section 230 immunity for content dealing with child exploitation, terrorism and cyber-stalking. It also recommends stripping protections from platforms that facilitate or solicit unlawful content or activity by third parties.
The DOJ called on Congress to make other changes to the statutory language, such as removing the “otherwise objectionable” phrase that allows platforms to engage in content moderation and replacing it with “unlawful” and “promotes terrorism.”
Another proposed change would add a statutory definition of “good faith” that requires content removal be consistent with terms of service and be accompanied by a “reasonable explanation.”
Wednesday’s proposals come less than a month after Trump’s executive order and reveal how Republicans plan to go after tech companies.
Trump’s order, among other things, directs an agency within the Commerce Department to file a petition with the Federal Communications Commission to clarify the scope of Section 230.
The order implies that a new rule could make social media platforms liable for claims based on third-party content as well as their efforts to moderate their platforms, but does not have the legal authority to change the law passed by Congress in 1996.
A lawsuit has already been filed against the order, and many more are expected.
