Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA-09) believes freedom of speech is of supreme importance to the fabric of America and that no one should have the power to censor political speech. Wednesday, he joined with a number of other Congressmen in introducing the “Stop the Censorship Act of 2020” to hold Big Tech accountable by rolling back Section 230 protections.
Collins explains that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act affords Big Tech immunity from liability for third-party content. Section 230’s “Good Samaritan” provision provides immunity for the removal of users and content and has been abused by Big Tech to censor competition and lawful speech. Political candidates, small businesses, medical professionals, pro-life advocates, journalists, authors, artists, comedians, supporters of President Trump, and many more are being censored by Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and other online platforms.
According to Collins, the Stop the Censorship Act revokes the immunity for the removal of competition and lawful speech and empowers users to protect themselves from objectionable material.
“Our country was founded on the free exchange of ideas and the ability of all Americans to speak freely, a principle that has allowed the Internet to thrive,” said Collins. “But in recent years, companies like Twitter and Google have used Section 230 as a shield while unlawfully abusing the First Amendment rights of their users. It’s time we put an end to Big Tech’s unlawful censorship by rolling back their broad protections and promoting market competition, which is exactly what the Stop Censorship Act of 2020 will do.”
Sponsors of this legislation say that instead of empowering Big Tech with immunity to remove anything they don’t like, this act extends protections to online platforms for “any action taken to provide users with the option to restrict access to any other material,” empowering users to choose content filter options.
This legislation, Collins says, also aligns with focused reforms recently recommended by the Justice Department including:
● Reform to Promote Open Discourse and Greater Transparency: Section 230 currently provides online platforms with immunity for the removal of anything they perceive to be “otherwise objectionable.” The vagueness of the term “otherwise objectionable” grants platforms immunity to remove any speech they don’t like, without any potential recourse for the user. Stop the Censorship Act revokes immunity for the removal of “otherwise objectionable” material and instead provides a new standard of immunity for content removal – “unlawful, or that promotes violence or terrorism.”
● Reform to Promote Competition:
Section 230 greatly contributed to the size and power of Big Tech. Online platforms have argued that the inclusion of the term “otherwise objectionable” creates immunity from antitrust claims Stop the Censorship Act ensures that Section 230 does not extend immunity for antitrust claims aimed at promoting and preserving competition
