House Republicans Are Proving Problematic For Section 230 (Again)

Republican staff for House Energy and Commerce Committee circulated a new memorandum suggesting several concepts to reform Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act of 1996, which protects technology platforms from liability for users’ posts and moderation practices.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, is the Minority Ranking Member and GOP leader for the committee.

“Resolving these complex issues will not be easy,” notes the memorandum, under the orders of Rep. Rodgers. “We must embrace our conservative principles to find a viable solution consistent with the First Amendment that enables individuals to express themselves freely and protects the right of private companies to control their property.”

The memo is entitled the Big Tech Accountability Platform. Concepts discussed in the memo feature popular conservative talking points on Section 230 reform.

These concepts include limiting the rights of tech companies to exclude users based on their political viewpoints and affiliations; the requiring of so-called “reasonable moderation practices” to address harm like illegal drug sales and child exploitation; narrowing protected moderation to “specific types of speech not protected by the First Amendment”; and the removal of protections for discriminatory moderation decisions based on unpopular viewpoints.

“Accordingly, this outreach is to start a considerate, inclusive, and transparent process as staff consider and develop legislation under our Platform,” the memorandum notes. “This initial outreach is to first focus on legislative concepts and then work with stakeholders and interested parties as we develop legislative text.”

These concepts, described in greater detail attached to the memorandum, are all stereotypical pipe dreams targeted at gutting the Section 230 liability shield that companies that rely on the internet depend on maintaining some degree of recovered action. Upon further review of the memo, the Republican staff for the Energy and Commerce Committee has lost sight of this, and the wide-ranging impact a major Section 230 repeal or rewrite would have on not just social media, but adult platforms such as OnlyFans, Pornhub, ManyVids, LiveJasmin, and countless other web platforms.

Since the Democrats hold the majority in the House, it’s unlikely that these concepts will be advanced without the help of liberal lawmakers. Either way, both parties will eventually do harm by weakening Section 230 , targeting consensual porn platforms and mainstream platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube.