LOS ANGELES—Following a request from the Trump administration in late July to roll back Section 230, the 24-year-old law that allows for wide-ranging free speech online, Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai now says that he will “move forward” with new rules to “clarify” the law.
Though the Trump request was sparked by what he says is social media firms’ alleged blocking of conservative political content, any curtailing of Section 230 could have a dramatic impact on the adult industry.
“Section 230 has been called the First Amendment of the internet for good reason,” First Amendment lawyer Lawrence Walters said in an interview with AVN earlier this year. “Any change to Section 230 could result in restrictive content moderation rules or elimination of the platforms, themselves.”
The law, Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, frees online service providers, including social media sites, from legal responsibility for content posted by users.
What the FCC can actually do about Section 230, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, remains murky. A regulatory body does not have the authority to alter a congressionally-passed law. Only Congress itself can do that, by passing new legislation.
In a statement issued last week, Pai appeared to be aware that the FCC’s options were limited in complying with the Trump request, saying only that the commission has the authority to “interpret” Section 230, and that “I intend to move forward with a rulemaking to clarify its meaning.”
The statement, however, was a reversal for Pai, according to a Washington Post report. Prior to the Trump request, Pai had opposed new regulations on social media firms. But last week, the FCC chair said that “social media companies have a First Amendment right to free speech. But they do not have a First Amendment right to a special immunity denied to other media outlets, such as newspapers and broadcasters.”
But Pai’s announcement was met with quick pushback from former and current FCC commissioners. Former Chair Tom Wheeler told the tech site Recode, “I don’t think the FCC has the authority to be thought police over platforms.”
Current FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel echoed Wheeler, taking to her Twitter account to say, "The FCC has no business being the President’s speech police."
Whether the FCC has any influence over the fate of Section 230, however, could depend heavily on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Pai is a Republican appointed by Trump. Were Democrat Joe Biden to win the presidency, he would be expected to replace Pai as FCC boss with a fellow Democrat.
Like Trump, however, Biden has called for Section 230 to be repealed. Unlike Trump, however, who claims that the law allows social media platforms to censor political opinions, Biden’s view is that Section 230 allows those platforms to circulate misinformation online with no consequences.
Photo by Biljana Jovanovic / Pixabay
