Today, NetChoice condemned Sen. Hawley’s “Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act” as legislation that would embolden extreme political movements, such as the KKK.
The bill empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to judge whether a platform is moderating with “political neutrality.” Under the bill, before a platform can enjoy liability protections, it must first receive a “neutrality seal of approval” from the FTC. This means that the FTC would have the power to say which social media platforms are allowed to host political speech by users.
“This bill prevents social media websites from removing dangerous and hateful content, since that could make them liable for lawsuits over any user’s posting” said Carl Szabo, General Counsel at NetChoice. “Sen. Hawley’s bill creates an internet where content from the KKK would display alongside our family photos and cat videos.”
“This law would turn today’s popular social media sites into hubs of extremism like 8-Chan.”
“Republicans should be very worried about Sen. Hawley giving control of the internet to the FTC, since it empowers a future Democratic administration to suppress conservative speech online.”