Schatz, Thune Reintroduce Section 230 Bill

Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and John Thune, R-S.D., announced reintroduction Thursday of a bill to hold tech companies liable for hosting content that violates their own policies or is illegal. The Internet Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Internet Pact) Act would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require “large online platforms” to “remove court-determined illegal content and activity within four days.” The bill would exempt “enforcement of federal civil laws from Section 230” so online platforms can’t “use it as a defense” when federal regulators like DOJ or the FTC “pursue civil actions online.” The bill would require platforms to share publicly available content moderation practices. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.