Section 230
Latest
The Senate's section 230 hearing was partisan and predictable
Today's Senate Commerce Committee hearing featured Twitter's Jack Dorsey, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, and addressed the very law that's foundational to free-flowing user content. Democrats, meanwhile, blamed their colleagues across the aisle for scheduling the hearing in the run-up to an election, characterizing it as a way to intimidate platforms into permitting dubious information to spread.
FCC's Ajit Pai wants to 'clarify' the meaning of Section 230
Pai's statement comes after President Trump again called for Section 230 to be revoked
Facebook and Twitter CEOs to attend hearing about Section 230 protections
The Justice Department also released a proposal to roll back legal protections Section 230 provides to internet platforms.
Senate committee votes to subpoena Facebook, Google and Twitter CEOs
They're set to grill Zuckerberg, Pichai and Dorsey over Section 230 protections.
DoJ asks Congress to limit protections for social media companies
The Department of Justice (DoJ) is asking Congress to adopt a new law that would make Facebook, Google and Twitter liable for the way they moderate content, The Washington Post reports. The legislation would alter the controversial Section 230 so that tech companies would be accountable when they “unlawfully censor speech and when they knowingly facilitate criminal activity online.” “For too long Section 230 has provided a shield for online platforms to operate with impunity,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.
Trump administration petitions FCC to reinterpret Section 230 rules
Back in May, the President signed an executive order — after Twitter fact-checked him — proposing to limit the protections social media platforms enjoy under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. The Secretary of Commerce through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conjure up rules clarifying Section 230.
EARN IT Act amendments transfer the fight over Section 230 to the states
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an amended version of the EARN IT Act, which will head to the Senate floor for debate.
Twitch has suspended Donald Trump's account
The President's account broke the platform's hateful conduct policy.
Senate bill aims to boost accountability for Section 230 without gutting it
A bipartisan Senate bill would make Section 230 online moderation more accountable and transparent without being subject to political whims.
Devin Nunes can’t sue Twitter over parody cow account
No word yet on the fate of @DevinCow, though.
Twitter marks a Trump tweet 'manipulated media' for the first time
The label Twitter applied to this Donald Trump tweet marks it as manipulated media, and links to the company's policies.
DoJ's Section 230 proposal seeks more (and less) moderation online
The Justice Department has released its proposal to roll back legal protections provided to internet platforms under Section 230.
DoJ will reportedly limit social media companies' speech protections
The Justice Department reportedly plans to announce a proposal later today that will limit the Section 230 protections internet companies have enjoyed for decades.
Senators push FCC to take action on Trump's social media order
Four senators have asked the FCC to act on Trump's order limiting social media protections, but they might not get the answer they want.
Lawsuit claims Trump's social media order violates free speech rights
President Trump faces a lawsuit asserting that his social media order violates the First Amendment.
Facebook slams executive order: ‘It will restrict more speech online’
Facebook says Trump's executive order will restrict speech and lead to more censorship.
Trump signs executive order that could limit protections for social media companies (updated)
President Trump has signed an executive order that the White House claims could limit the protections Twitter and other social media companies have under current federal law.
EARN IT act targets online child abuse but could threaten encryption
Just as a number of tech companies and online services agreed to voluntary guidelines on protecting kids and reduce exploitation online, several senators introduced legislation that they claim will force companies to take the issue even more seriously. Dubbed the "Eliminating Abuse and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2019," (EARN IT), the bill threatens to pull immunity given to providers under Section 230 for the things users post, unless they take certain steps to block online sexual child abuse. The ACLU issued a statement in opposition to the bill on the basis that it will lead to the introduction of backdoors that reduce the security and privacy of everyone, with Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane saying "Because of the safety and security encryption provides, Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation that would create an encryption backdoor. This legislation would empower an unelected commission to effectively mandate what Congress has time and again decided against, while also jeopardizing free expression on the Internet in the process."
What does the end of Elizabeth Warren's campaign mean for big tech?
Amazon, Facebook, Google and the rest of the US tech giants can breath a little bit easier today. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the race to be the Democratic party's presidential nominee, leaving just Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden as plausible candidates to be on the ballot come November.
Draft bill could penalize companies for using end-to-end encryption
Politicians may be looking for a roundabout way to thwart end-to-end encryption. Senator Lindsey Graham is drafting a bill, the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act, that would modify the Communications Decency Act's Section 230 to make companies liable in state criminal cases and civil lawsuits over child abuse and exploitation if they don't follow practices set by a national commission. Some of these would be relatively uncontroversial, such as offering parental controls and setting age limits with disclosures. However, the bill also includes requirements to "preserve, remove from view, and report" material as well as retain evidence, and there's a concern these could be used as pretexts for punishing the use of end-to-end encryption that would make some of this data inaccessible.