Three Republican senators on Tuesday passed laws amending a federal law protecting online platforms from liability for material posted by their users.
The Online Freedom and Diversity of Opinion Act introduced by Sens. Roger Wicker (Miss.), Lindsey Graham (SC) and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) Would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act so that protection from liability depends on content moderation on an "objectively reasonable standard of belief".
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It is suggested that the term "otherwise objectionable" in the original law be replaced with more specific terms such as "promoting terrorism", "illegal" content and content promoting "self-harm". It would also clarify the definition of "information content provider".
The bill would also change the definition of "information content provider" to allow instances of people to edit or change content created or developed by another person or organization beyond changes in the appearance of the content.
Republicans have long accused Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms of abusing legal protections to censor conservative views. President Donald Trump advocated this position Signing an executive order in May this requested a government review of Section 230.
"For too long, social media platforms have been hiding behind Section 230 protection to censor content that deviates from their beliefs," Wicker said in a statement.
The previous Tuesday, Trump went to Twitter to criticize the online platform and urge Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell to lift legal protections.
"Why does Twitter leave fake images like this one, but Republican / Conservative images and statements that are true? Mitch must fight back and overturn Section 230 now. Stop biased big tech before they stop you!" Trump wrote in his tweet, including the popular 2019 Moscow Mitch meme with a picture of McConnell's face lying on the body of a Russian guard in Moscow's Red Square.
Why does Twitter leave such fake images open, but Republican / Conservative images and statements that are true? Mitch has to fight back immediately and overturn Section 230. Stop Biased Big Tech Before They Stop You! @ HawleyMO @ MarshaBlackburn https://t.co/ah0nMeQdM0
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2020
Section 230 has also sharply criticized from the left. Democrats have attacked the law for allowing Silicon Valley to divert responsibility for the disinformation and misleading content that thrives on their websites.
The tech industry has warned that changes to Section 230, particularly those proposed by the Trump administration, could limit freedom of speech online. The industry argues that without the legal protection, tech platforms would take a stricter approach to content moderation in order to reduce legal liability.
Social media giants previously had to lose their protection if Section 230 was re-examined. In June 2019, Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced the Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act, designed to remove automatic immunity from tech companies.
A month later, in a congressional hearing, representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter testified that their respective companies made mistakes in posting content but that they did not censor with political bias.
Facebook declined to comment. Representatives from Google and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new legislation.