Chris White, DCNF
The Department of Justice is preparing to roll back nearly two-decade old laws protecting tech companies in an effort to spur them into being fairer and more consistent about how they suppress content on their platforms, a new report shows.
The proposed changes could be introduced as soon as Wednesday and must be adopted by Congress, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a Trump administration official.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May seeking to target the legal protections that Silicon Valley companies have enjoyed for years. The move was a response to conservatives who believe Twitter and other tech giants discriminate against them for political reasons. Tech companies deny the accusation.
The White House confirmed that the president requested the DOJ create model legislation supporting his executive order.
“The President expressly called on DOJ to develop such model legislation in the Executive Order signed recently, and yes, President Trump is pleased to see the department following through,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a press statement, according to CNBC Washington correspondent Eamon Javers.
The DOJ’s proposals will seek to address some of the concerns Trump laid out, but will also strip civil immunity afforded to tech companies in a range of other circumstances, the official said, according to TheWSJ.
Legal protections protecting platforms when they facilitate or solicit their party content or activity that violates federal criminal law will reportedly be removed. The DOJ will also not provide tech platforms immunity in instances involving online child exploitation and sexual abuse, the report notes.
Such carve-outs are necessary to allow victims of cyber abuse to seek redress, the official said.
The proposal sets sights on sweeping internet protections known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Tech platforms are not legally liable for actions of their users, and are given broad ability to patrol their sites as they see fit under the current law.
Such protections would be scaled back under the DOJ’s proposal, which would prevent platforms from taking down content without offering reasonable rules and following them consistently, the WSJ reported. It also would make platforms more responsible for third-party content, according to the report.
The DOJ has not responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment regarding the WSJ report. Neither Google nor the Internet Association have responded for comment.
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