DOJ Moves to Limit Internet Content Protections

The Department of Justice is moving forward with a proposal to pull back legal content protections for online platforms.

The reforms are intended to limit liability protections that online platforms have enjoyed for decades. A DOJ official told the Wall Street Journal that the department hopes these changes will push internet publishers to be more vigilant in addressing harmful content and make more consistent decisions regarding content removal. The DOJ proposal is expected to be released in full as soon as Wednesday.

President Trump has been critical of social media’s hard-left bias for some time. However, the president has been intensifying his efforts to curb Big Tech’s power. These efforts come after Twitter slapped a fact-check label on one of his tweets a few weeks ago.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order seeking to limit liability protections for online platforms. The move largely came in response to increasing evidence of social media platforms censoring conservative or right-leaning content from their platforms. Trump’s executive order would limit immunity for social media firms who unfairly curb users’ speech. Twitter, in particular, is notorious for suspending and shadow-banning accounts that promote right-wing and conservative content.

DOJ's Proposal

DOJ to propose a roll back of legal protections that online platforms have enjoyed for 20+ years. Department would curb Section 230 immunity if internet firms facilitate criminal conduct, and if their content moderation is unfair and inconsistent. https://t.co/vrOSpgsxwd

— Brent Kendall (@brkend) June 17, 2020

The changes proposed by DOJ will address many of the same concerns. However, it goes much further than Trump’s executive order. The full proposal hasn’t been released just yet. However, early details indicate that it will significantly weaken civil liability protections for online publishers. According to a DOJ official, the department is seeking to strip publishers of their legal protections for a broad variety of circumstances.

Under the DOJ changes, online platforms that facilitate or solicit activity that violates federal criminal law. These include sites that promote scams or drug trafficking. The proposal also seeks to limit immunity in cases involving child abuse, terrorism and cyberstalking. It opens the door for victims to seek compensation in these types of cases.

Tech platforms will also lose immunity in civil-enforcement actions involving the federal government. In addition, publishers can no longer use immunity as a defense if they are under antitrust investigation for removing content for anticompetitive reasons. Publishers would also have to strictly adhere to their terms of service and provide reasonable explanations for removing content. The DOJ is also proposing a change to federal law. It will help prevent publishers to no longer be able to remove content simply because they deemed it “objectionable.”

Ultimately, the Justice Department changes would severely roll back online protections afforded under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The law gives tech platforms broad legal immunity for the actions of their users and allows them to moderate content on their site as they see fit. However, many conservatives feel left-leaning social media platforms are taking exploiting these legal protections to promote their own views.

Implementation

The Department of Justice can’t implement the reforms on their own. Its proposal is a legislative plan, so it needs to pass Congress to become law. That means it will have to clear the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. However, Democrats might push back against the legislation to maintain the progressive stranglehold on social media.

However, social media platforms have also drawn scrutiny from progressives over the past few weeks for allowing so-called offensive content. Therefore, it’s possible that Democrats would be open to curbing legal protections for online platforms. In fact, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has pushed to strip Section 230 legal protection for online platforms in the past.

It seems like Trump’s executive order was only the opening salvo in a major effort to curb Big Tech’s power. His order was immediately challenged in court by online rights groups and the case is pending, but the Justice Department’s proposals will really turn up the heat on online publishers if they make headway in Congress.

If the Democrats get on board with the effort to rollback Section 230 protection, it’s almost certain that online publishers will lose some of their liability protection. Twitter and other online platforms will have to rethink their business practices or they’ll risk opening themselves up to a bombardment of lawsuits.

Up Next:

• Trump Seeks End to Social Media Protections after Twitter Spat
• Trump Accuses Twitter of “Interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election” Following Warning Label
• Twitter to Warn Users if They Tweet Reply with “Offensive or Hurtful Language”

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