Energy and Commerce Leaders Unveil Bipartisan Draft Legislation to Sunset Section 230

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today unveiled bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. As laid out in the Leaders’ opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, the legislation seeks to encourage Congress and stakeholders to work together over the next 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also incentivizing these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. 

The Wall Street Journal: Sunset of Section 230 Would Force Big Tech’s Hand

The law has outlived its usefulness and made the internet a dangerous place for America’s children.

The internet’s original promise was to help people and businesses connect, innovate and share information. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act in 1996 to realize those goals. It was an overwhelming success. Section 230 of the act helped shepherd the internet from the “you’ve got mail” era into today’s global nexus of communication and commerce.

Unfortunately, Section 230 is now poisoning the healthy online ecosystem it once fostered. Big Tech companies are exploiting the law to shield them from any responsibility or accountability as their platforms inflict immense harm on Americans, especially children. Congress’s failure to revisit this law is irresponsible and untenable. That is why we’re taking bipartisan action.

We must act because Big Tech is profiting from children, developing algorithms that push harmful content on to our kids’ feeds and refusing to strengthen their platforms’ protections against predators, drug dealers, sex traffickers, extortioners and cyberbullies. Children are paying the price, developing addictive and dangerous habits, often at the expense of their mental health. Big Tech has failed to uphold American democratic values and be fair stewards of the speech they host.

Section 230 was written before many of these companies even existed or the full effect of the internet’s capabilities were known. Courts have expanded what Congress originally intended, interpreting Section 230 in a way that gives Big Tech companies nearly unlimited immunity from legal consequences. These blanket protections have resulted in tech firms operating without transparency or accountability for how they manage their platforms. This means that a social-media company, for example, can’t easily be held responsible if it promotes, amplifies or makes money from posts selling drugs, illegal weapons or other illicit content. As long as the status quo prevails, these companies will keep putting profit ahead of the health of our society and youth.

Over the years lawmakers have tried to no avail to address these concerns, thanks in part to Big Tech’s refusal to engage in a meaningful way. Congress has made good-faith efforts to find a solution that preserves Big Tech’s ability to innovate and ensures safety and accountability for past and future harm. It’s time to make that a reality, which is why we are unveiling today bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230.

Our measure aims to restore the internet’s intended purpose—to be a force for free expression, prosperity and innovation. It would require Big Tech and others to work with Congress over 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also encouraging these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. Our bill gives Big Tech a choice: Work with Congress to ensure the internet is a safe, healthy place for good, or lose Section 230 protections entirely.

The proposal would likewise ensure that social-media companies are held accountable for failing to protect our children. Tech companies currently enjoy immunity under Section 230 that applies to virtually no other industry. That makes no sense and must end. Traditional media outlets have long informed and entertained us without the same expansive legal shield. We need a solution that ensures accountability, keeps children safe, and levels the playing field so Big Tech is treated like other industries.

Reforming Section 230 won’t “break the internet” or hurt free speech, as Big Tech warns. The First Amendment—not Section 230—is the basis for our free-speech protections in the U.S., and it won’t cease providing them even if Section 230 immunity no longer exists.

Meaningful changes will ensure these companies are no longer able to hide behind a broadly interpreted law while they manipulate and profit from Americans’ free-speech protections. Updating Section 230 will empower parents, children and others who have been exploited by criminals, drug dealers and others on social-media platforms.

Sunsetting Section 230 will require Congress and stakeholders to create a solution that ensures accountability, protects innovation and free speech, and reflects the realities of the digital age. The internet can thrive while still being fair to companies and safe for all.

Mrs. Rodgers, a Washington Republican, is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, is the committee’s ranking member.

CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed.

CLICK HERE to read the bipartisan discussion draft legislation.

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