Congresswoman Hageman Introduces the Sunset to Reform Section 230 Act to Curb Big Tech Censorship

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced the Sunset to Reform Section 230 Act to force Congress to reform the broad authorities it has granted to Big Tech.   

“Congress commits legislative malpractice when it does not adopt sunset provisions simultaneously with granting broad authority. Technology and the private sector will always outpace the speed of the federal government, and Section 230 is a perfect example of good ideas with unintended consequences. Enacted in 1996, Section 230 granted tech companies broad immunity for content removal at a time when we could not have anticipated the influence, scope, and pervasiveness of social media and other ways to communicate. After years of censorship and abuse, it is now time for Congress to reform this authority and constrain the essentially limitless power that we have granted to these companies. We know, however, that outside interests will work tirelessly to block any serious reforms from coming forward, and we must therefore find a way to force the issue through the reauthorization process. Including a sunset provision in Section 230 will require Congress to continuously monitor these companies for abuse and to ensure that the American people are protected from being silenced merely for the views that they hold,” stated Rep. Hageman. 

Background: 

To facilitate the Internet revolution, Congress enacted Section 230 to protect the tech companies and free speech of users, a noble and necessary balance that is still needed today. However, it also grants tech companies immunity from civil liability for the removal of content that Big Tech considers to be “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.”  

The current statute does not define what otherwise objectionable means, nor could it because it is not a common standard. What is objectionable to one person might not be to another. In this absence, Big Tech has defined what is objectionable based on its own beliefs. For years, that was with a liberal Silicon Valley bias, the very group that colluded with the federal government on the largest censorship programs in our nation’s history.  

What Congress must do is replace the “otherwise objectionable” standard with an “unlawful” standard. This would allow Big Tech to remove content that harms our children, facilitates terrorism, and more. I am a cosponsor of the Stop the Censorship Act, which would make this change, but the opportunity for this reform will only come if Congress is forced to periodically debate the reauthorization of Section 230, which my bill would do.    

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