Today, NetChoice expressed mixed feelings on the Senate Commerce hearing titled Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior. The bad news: some Senators continue to misunderstand that it’s the First Amendment that enables hate speech and misinformation online. Section 230 is the law that enables platforms to provide the information that is best for their users and advertisers. The good news: Others stepped up to correct their colleagues.
“Today’s hearing demonstrated the squeeze that both sides in Congress are putting on social media platforms. Republicans push for less content moderation while Democrats demand more fact-checking and content removal. This squeeze puts Facebook, Twitter, Google in an impossible position, especially so close to election day,” said Steve DelBianco, President of NetChoice.
“This hearing featured something we’ve rarely seen these days: strong defenses of Section 230 from Senators on both sides of the aisle,” said Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel at NetChoice. “We’re glad that lawmakers are appreciating the widespread benefits of Section 230 and the costs to startups if it’s amended. We look forward to working with Congress to further show how amending Section 230 harms free expression while doing little to address lawmakers’ concerns.”