LOS ANGELES—The congressional campaign to roll back online free speech protections under the law known as Section 230 continued this week, as a Senate Committee sent subpoenas to CEOs of three of the largest and most influential tech firms — Facebook, Twitter, and Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. The three CEOs will be required to testify just six days before the 2020 presidential election, according to a Politico report.
"On the eve of a momentous and highly-charged election, it is imperative that this committee of jurisdiction and the American people receive a full accounting from the heads of these companies about their content moderation practices," Senate Commerce Committee Chair Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican said last week, announcing the subpoenas for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and Google’s Sundar Pichai.
The three are expected to testify virtually, via teleconference, on October 28.
Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act protects platforms from legal liability over content posted by users. Those protections allow online content providers who allow a nearly unlimited range of views and topics — a provision that is especially important for the online adult industry.
Wicker and Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn have co-sponsored one of the numerous bills aimed at curtailing protections under the 1996 law widely described as “The First Amendment of the Internet.”
Last week, Republican Ohio House Rep Jim Jordan introduced his own version of anti-Section 230 legislation, the “Protect Speech Act.”
His bill joins a Senate bill sponsored by Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, and another pushed by Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, and a bipartisan Senate bill known as the PACT Act sponsored by Hawaii Democrat Brain Schatz, and South Dakota Republican John Thune.
But perhaps the most prominent bill aimed at rolling back Section 230 is the EARN IT Act, authored by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham. EARN IT not only rolls back Section 230 protections, it also places strict limits on internet encryption technologies. The bill could lead to increased government and law enforcement surveillance of sex workers in particular, experts say.
A version of the EARN IT Act was introduced in the House of Representatives last week, co-sponsored by Texas Democrat Sylvia Garcia, and Missouri Republican Ann Wagner.
Wagner was also a primary sponsor of the 2018 FOSTA/SESTA Act which stripped Section 230 liability protections from platforms suspected of promoting “sex trafficking” — another law that had had a damaging effect on sex workers.
A major rollback or elimination of Section 230 would effectively upend the business models of Facebook, Twitter and even Google, an issue that the CEOs are expected to address in their October 28 testimony.
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