U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Sept. 8 introduced legislation that would amend Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to modify its civil liability protections for the blocking and screening of online material that includes content that may be viewed as valid political speech.
“Our legislation would restore power to consumers by promoting full and fair discourse online,” said Sen. Wicker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
“Big Tech companies,” added Sen. Blackburn, “have stretched their liability shield past its limits, and the national discourse now suffers because of it.”
Sen. Wicker sponsored the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act, S. 4534, with cosponsors Sen. Blackburn and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), to clarify the original intent of the law and increase accountability for content moderation practices, according to their bill summary.
“For too long, social media platforms have hidden behind Section 230 protections to censor content that deviates from their beliefs,” said Sen. Wicker. “These practices should not receive special protections in our society where freedom of speech is at the core of our nation’s values.”
Sen. Blackburn said that “the polished mega-platforms we associate with online research and debate exert unprecedented influence over how Americans discover new information, and what information is available for discovery.” No meaningful alternative exists to these powerful platforms, she said, thereby limiting accountability for the effects of such bias “until Congress steps in and brings liability protections into the modern era.”
If enacted, S. 4534 would clarify when Section 230’s liability protections apply to instances where online platforms choose to restrict access to certain types of content and would allow tech companies to only restrict access to content on its platform where it has “an objectively reasonable belief” that the content falls within a certain, specified category, among other provisions, according to the text of the bill.
The bill has been referred for consideration to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.