Tag Archives: Communications Decency Act

Big Tech CEOs told ‘time for self-regulation is over’ by U.S. lawmakers

By Diane Bartz and Elizabeth Culliford

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter appeared before Congress on Thursday to answer questions about extremism and misinformation on their services in their first appearances since rioters assaulted the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg; Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent Alphabet Inc; and Twitter Inc CEO Jack Dorsey are testifying before the joint hearing by two subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Lawmakers began the hearing by criticizing the social media platforms for their role in the riot and in the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, as well as concerns about children’s mental health.

“You failed to meaningfully change after your platform has played a role in fomenting insurrection and abetting the spread of the virus and trampling American civil liberties,” said Democratic Representative Frank Pallone, chair of the Energy and Commerce committee.

“Your business model itself has become the problem and the time for self-regulation is over. It’s time we legislate to hold you accountable,” he added.

Some lawmakers are calling for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability over user content, to be scrapped or rejigged. There are several pieces of legislation from Democrats to reform Section 230 that are doing the rounds in Congress, though progress has been slow. Several Republican lawmakers have also been pushing separately to scrap the law entirely.

In written testimony released on Wednesday, Facebook argued that Section 230 should be redone to allow companies immunity from liability for what users put on their platforms only if they follow best practices for removing damaging material.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg said polarization in the country was not the fault of social media: “I believe that the division we see today is primarily the result of a political and media environment that drives Americans apart.”

Republicans on the panel also criticized the tech giants for what they see as efforts to stifle conservative voices.

Former President Donald Trump was banned by Twitter over inciting violence around Jan. 6, while Facebook has asked its independent oversight board to rule on whether to bar him permanently. He is still suspended from YouTube.

The three CEOs have all appeared in front of Congress before, with Facebook’s Zuckerberg clocking up seven appearances since 2018.

Lawmakers’ scrutiny of misinformation on major online platforms intensified after U.S. intelligence agencies said Russia used them to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Elizabeth Culliford in New York; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Lisa Shumaker)

U.S. House overwhelmingly passes $740 billion defense bill, defying Trump veto threat

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a $740 billion defense policy bill that President Donald Trump has pledged to veto, heading toward a confrontation with the president.

The vote was 335 to 78 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans, a margin that would be large enough to overcome Trump’s promised veto.

“Today the House sent a strong, bipartisan message to the American people: Our service members and our national security are more important than politics,” Democratic Representative Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week. Backers hope Trump will reconsider his veto threat if it passes by a margin similar to the one in the House.

The NDAA sets policy for the Pentagon on everything from how many ships and rifles to buy to soldiers’ pay to how best to address geopolitical threats. Lawmakers note with pride its passage for 59 straight years, which they cite as evidence of support for a strong defense.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto this year’s measure, first because of a provision – approved by both the Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate – to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases.

More recently, he has objected because the NDAA does not repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects technology companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc from liability for what appears on their platforms.

Trump and many of his supporters insist the tech companies have an anti-conservative bias, which they deny.

“I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO,” Trump said on Twitter.

“Must include a termination of Section 230 (for National Security purposes), preserve our National Monuments, & allow for 5G & troop reductions in foreign lands!” he said.

REPUBLICAN OBJECTIONS

His threats frustrated lawmakers, who said the tech measure has nothing to do with defense and does not belong in the NDAA. They also said Trump’s concerns about social media should not block a 4,500-page bill considered essential for the Pentagon.

“Our troops should not be punished because this bill does not fix everything that should be fixed,” said Representative Mac Thornberry, the top House Armed Services Committee Republican.

The White House issued its formal veto threat on Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers and staff have been working on the NDAA for most of the past year.

Although most congressional Republicans strongly support Trump, a few said they would vote to override his veto, even if it means shortening their Christmas holiday break. The NDAA’s passage in the Senate would give Trump 10 days, minus Sundays, to issue a veto. Otherwise it would automatically become law.

A successful override would be the first of Trump’s four-year presidency.

The NDAA will expire if it is not enacted before the new Congress is seated on Jan 3..

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chris Reese, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio and Sonya Hepinstall)

U.S. senator introduces legislation to curb Big Tech’s ad business

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Senator Josh Hawley on Tuesday introduced legislation that would penalize large tech companies that sell or show targeted advertisements by threatening a legal immunity enjoyed by the industry – the latest onslaught on Big Tech’s business practices.

The bill, titled “Behavioral Advertising Decisions Are Downgrading Services (Bad Ads) Act,” aims to crack down on invasive data gathering by large technology companies such as Facebook and Alphabet’s Google that target users based on their behavioral insights.

It does so by threatening Section 230 – part of the Communications Decency Act — that shields online businesses from lawsuits over content posted by users. The legal shield has recently come under scrutiny from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers concerned about online content moderation decisions by technology companies.

On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz and No. 2 Senate Republican John Thune will hold a hearing to examine the role of Section 230. The senators recently introduced legislation to reform the federal law.

In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks new regulatory oversight of tech firms’ content moderation decisions, and he backed legislation to scrap or weaken Section 230 in an attempt to regulate social media platforms.

“Big Tech’s manipulative advertising regime comes with a massive hidden price tag for consumers while providing almost no return to anyone but themselves,” said Hawley, an outspoken critic of tech companies and a prominent Trump ally. “From privacy violations to harming children to suppression of speech, the ramifications are very real.”

His recent legislation to ban federal employees from using Chinese social media app TikTok on their government-issued phones was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and will be taken up by the U.S. Senate for a vote.

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)