Section 230
William Barr's DOJ Pens Another Letter Targeting Section 230 Protections
An Assistant Attorney General at Willam Barr’s U.S. Department of Justice wrote a letter on Tuesday to the congressional committees currently reviewing projects to repeal or radically reform Section 230 — the so-called “First Amendment of the internet” — arguing that the legislation should be altered or else completely tossed in order to “start on fresh canvas.”
FCC Chairman to Issue Rules Regarding Websites' Content Moderation Liability
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced today that the agency will issue rules deciding when website operators’ moderation practices over third-party content leaves them exposed to potential legal liability, following Donald Trump’s directives on his May 28 Executive Order.
Clarence Thomas Calls for High Court Review of Section 230
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas today used a concurrent opinion about a case the court decided not to hear to issue a broader challenge on current liability protections for online platforms provided by Section 230, the so-called “First Amendment of the internet.”
Cyber Law Expert: Politicized Anti-Section 230 Proposals Target Adult Content
In a damning new op-ed, one of the nation’s foremost cyber law experts described the onslaught of legislative proposals and recommendations to abolish Section 230 — the so-called “First Amendment of the internet — recently unleashed by the White House, Attorney General William Barr, Senator Lindsey Graham and others, as “Trump-backed rules for online speech: 'no' to porn, 'yes' to election disinformation and hate speech.”
Chaotic Stream of Rival Anti-Section 230 Proposals Muddy Constructive Debate
As an unprecedentedly chaotic and fractious electoral campaign heads into its final month, a flurry of new proposals by members of both major parties targeting Section 230 — the so-called “First Amendment of the internet” — join a crowded debate about the controversial legislation.
AG Barr Joins Attack on Section 230 With Unusual Request to Congress
In an extremely unusual move by the U.S. Justice Department — part of the executive branch — AG William Barr sent to Congress today a legislative proposal to undermine Section 230, the so-called “First Amendment of the internet.”
Lindsey Graham Takes Aim at Section 230 With Yet Another Bill Proposal
Senator Lindsey Graham (R, South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, quietly scheduled yesterday an item on the agenda for Thursday’s committee meeting, aiming to discuss a new bill, S. 4632, which he called the Online Content Policy Modernization Act.
Liberal Think Tank Floats 'Digital Regulatory Agency' to Oversee Internet
While President Donald Trump and a group of Republican Senators continue railing against Section 230, the deputy director at a liberal-leaning think tank at NYU published a study and an article advocating for the creation of a new government entity to be called the “Digital Regulatory Agency” to oversee the internet.
Trump, GOP Senators Renew Attacks on Section 230
President Donald Trump and Senate Republican leaders renewed their ongoing attacks on Section 230 yesterday, once again making the so-called “First Amendment of the internet" a campaign issue.
Senate Commerce Committee Holds Hearing on PACT Act, Section 230
This morning, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet. held a lengthy hearing on Section 230, assessing the impact of what the committee calls “the law that helped create the internet” and examining proposed reforms to it, particularly the PACT Act.
EARN IT Act Passes Committee Unanimously With New Amendment Shielding Encryption
The U.S. Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary voted unanimously this morning to bring the EARN IT Act to the floor of the Senate, including an amendment that explicitly separated the issue of encryption from the current scope of the legislation.
Sen. Graham Postpones EARN IT Act Hearing, Salutes It for 'Rattling the System'
The U.S. Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary postponed a hearing this morning concerning the EARN IT Act, which sex workers activists and digital rights activists have termed “the New FOSTA.”
Bipartisan PACT Act Proposes Extensive Changes to Section 230 Protections
Two U.S. senators, Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and John Thune (R-S.D.), have introduced the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (PACT) Act, a new piece of legislation aiming to update Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Trump's DOJ, GOP Senators Present Projects Aimed at Section 230 Protections
Two separate projects, from the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and by Republican senators, were released yesterday proposing modifications to Section 230 of the federal communications act, known by Free Speech advocates as “the First Amendment of the internet.”
Is Trump's 'Online Censorship' Executive Order Good or Bad for Adult? An XBIZ Explainer
Trump's executive order issued yesterday bears the title “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship.” The wording might suggest to the adult entertainment business that the president is taking a stance on Free Speech, which could be beneficial to open sexual expression.
Trump Executive Order Targets Section 230, the 'First Amendment of the Internet'
A draft of the executive order announced yesterday by Donald Trump via Twitter in response to the platform’s attempt to fact-check his tweets proposes a radical modification of Section 230, the so-called “First Amendment of the Internet.”
Full Text of Donald Trump's 'Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship'
The White House website has published the official text of Donald Trump's executive order titled "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship."
Say It Isn’t So, Joe: Why Section 230 Should Not Be Revoked
The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights in our world today and the purpose of this article is not to attempt to sway your vote in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
New Bipartisan Bill Directly Threatens Section 230 of Communications Decency Act
Free speech advocates, tech lobbyists, civil liberties groups and others are raising the alarm about legislation unveiled Thursday, intended to combat "online sexual abuse of children," that threatens Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which protects tech companies from liability for content posted by users of their websites or platforms.
Attorney General Barr Criticizes Section 230 of Communications Decency Act
Attorney General William Barr criticized Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act at a Justice Department workshop Wednesday, claiming the tech company liability shield acts as a deterrence to law enforcement efforts.