Democrats' Bill Would Let Victims Sue Platforms for Discrimination, Other Harms

Three Senate Democrats introduced expected legislation Friday (see 2102030060) to weaken Communications Decency Act Section 230 immunity, so victims of discrimination, harassment, cyber-stalking and other behavior could sue online platforms. Introduced by Mark Warner, Va.; Mazie Hirono, Hawaii; and Amy Klobuchar, Minn.; the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (Safe Tech) Act would let consumers seek court orders “where misuse of a provider’s services is likely to cause irreparable harm” and hold platforms “accountable when they directly enable harmful activity.” Users could sue platforms when they directly contribute to loss of life. “Section 230 has provided a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card to the largest platform companies even as their sites are used by scam artists, harassers and violent extremists,” said Warner. The bill will hold platforms “accountable for harmful, often criminal behavior enabled by their platforms to which they have turned a blind eye for too long.” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., opposed the bill, saying it would effectively repeal the law he co-authored: “Creating liability for all commercial relationships would cause web hosts, cloud storage providers and even paid email services to purge their networks of any controversial speech.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged Congress to be “mindful of the impact of changes in our antitrust laws and to focus on ensuring federal antitrust agencies have the resources to do their job consistent with the law.” Changing merger review legal standards, relying on fines over remedies and expanding private litigation “will not make America’s economy more vibrant and will have far-reaching implications impacting virtually every sector of our economy,” said Executive Vice President Neil Bradley.