DOJ Unveils Trump Administration's Legislation to Reform Tech's Legal Liability Shield
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:
DOJ unveils Trump administration's legislation to reform tech's legal liability shield:
The Department of Justice proposed legislation Wednesday to reform a key legal liability shield for the tech industry known as Section 230.
The draft legislation focuses on two areas of reform. First, it aims to narrow the criteria online platforms must meet to earn the liability protections granted by Section 230. Second, it would carve out the statute's immunity for certain cases, like offenses involving child sexual abuse.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from liability for their users' posts, but it also allows them to moderate and remove harmful content without being penalized.
The statute's protections helped tech platforms grow from the early days of the internet but have come under scrutiny in recent years as lawmakers and regulators more broadly question the tech industry's power.
Several lawmakers have proposed reforms to Section 230 in recent months, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May targeting the law, claiming to crack down on alleged "censorship" by tech platforms. Trump introduced the order shortly after Twitter slapped fact-check labels on his tweets for the first time.
Representatives from Twitter, Google and Facebook were not immediately available to comment about the DOJ's proposal, which would need to be passed by Congress.
[...] The DOJ's proposal specifically states that nothing in the statute should prevent enforcement under other types of laws, including antitrust laws. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have all faced antitrust scrutiny from lawmakers and enforcers. Outlets including The New York Times have reported that the DOJ is preparing an antitrust case against Google that could come as soon as this month.
"Online censorship goes far beyond the issue of free speech, it's also one of protecting consumers and ensuring they are informed of their rights and resources to fight back under the law," White House spokesperson Judd Deere said in a statement Tuesday. "State attorneys general are on the front lines of this issue and President Trump wants to hear their perspectives."
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.