Congress considers blowing up internet law
Internet platforms’ liability shield Section 230 faced another round of attack at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, this time with two distinct undercurrents complicating the conversation. One was an unprecedented wave of ongoing legal challenges to the law’s scope, and the second was a heightened bipartisan concern over government censorship.
“Section 230 is not one of the Ten Commandments,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said in his opening remarks. “This idea that we can’t touch it, otherwise internet freedom incinerates, is preposterous.” Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced a bill to sunset Secti …
Related Knowledge Center: Section 230
Legislation enacted in 1996 protected interactive computer services from liability for third-party content — and defenders and critics of the law have been debating it ever since.
Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America