EFF is standing with a huge coalition of organizations to urge Congress to oppose the Online Content Policy Modernization Act (OCPMA, S. 4632). Introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the OCPMA is yet another of this year’s flood of misguided attacks on Internet speech (read bill [pdf]). The bill would make it harder for online platforms to take common-sense moderation measures like removing spam or correcting disinformation, including disinformation about the upcoming election. But it doesn’t stop there: the bill would also upend longstanding balances in copyright law, subjecting ordinary Internet users to up to $30,000 in fines for everyday activities like sharing photos and writing online, without even the benefit of a judge and jury.
One nice thing about democracy is that at least in theory we don’t need permission to speak freely and privately. We don’t have to prove that our speech meets the government’s criteria, online or offline. We don’t have to “earn” our rights to free speech or privacy.
Times have changed. Today, some U.S. senators have come to the view that speech in the online world is an exceptional case, in which website owners need to “earn it” whether they intend to carefully moderate user content, or let users speak freely. In 2020, two Senators introduced a bill that would limit speech and security online, titled the EARN IT Act, which is also an acronym that stands for “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies.”
Wed, Dec 16th 2020 10:51am
Mike Masnick
I still am perplexed at why so many politicians hate Section 230. They ve yet to provide any compelling reason at all. But, hate it, they do. Lindsey Graham, who has been at the forefront of senators wrongly attacking Section 230, has now decided to introduce
yet another bill to attack Section 230. This comes just days after Graham tried to move forward on one of his many anti-230 bills, the Frankenstein s monster bill called the Online Content Policy Modernization Act, that simply grafted together two bad bills: the dangerous and unconstitutional copyright CASE Act with the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act, that would basically force websites to host any hate speech.
Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google are using their online platforms to blacklist or censor conservative viewpoints.
Twitter flagged the accounts of President Donald Trump and his campaign multiple times for election-related posts the social media giant said violated its content rules. Twitter also froze the New York Post’s account for more than two weeks after the publication reported on Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop.
Facebook took down multiple advertisements by the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization, and has censored similar content from other pro-life groups. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted in 2019 there “clearly was bias” over the monitoring of pro-life content on the platform, Fox News reported.