Washington, D.C. – Representatives Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-9) issued the following statement after reintroducing H.R. 908, the Stop the Censorship Act, legislation reforming Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to end Big Tech’s broad ability to censor Americans:
“Big Tech, including social media giant Meta, were caught colluding with the Biden Regime to censor free speech involving explosive information about Hunter Biden’s laptop and content related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, under current law, they are not held liable for restricting free speech online. Countless other examples exist of the government and Big Tech silencing the American people who dare disagree with them all the while promoting propaganda to advance their liberal and woke political causes. The government cannot censor lawful speech even if done indirectly. This is an illegal deprivation of civil rights.
Free speech is a bedrock of the United States, but the overwhelmingly left-leaning Big Tech companies have taken that right away from Americans by silencing online speech they disagree with. The Stop the Censorship Act revokes Big Tech’s Section 230 protections by providing a much-needed update to the Communications Act of 1934. There should be no more Big Tech immunity for censoring lawful political speech,” stated Congressman Gosar.
Background:
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1934 deputizes Big Tech companies to censor competition and lawful political speech, even affording immunity from legal challenges against anticompetitive conduct.
The Stop Censorship Act revokes Big Tech’s broad immunity for the removal of “otherwise objectionable” material and instead protects the removal of “unlawful material,” extends protections to platforms for empowering users with the option to restrict access to any material, ensures Section 230 does not provide immunity from antitrust claims and requires platforms to abide by their own terms of service.
Original Cosponsors:
Representatives Boebert, Collins, Hageman, Mary Miller, Nehls, Norman, Tiffany
A copy of the Stop the Censorship Act can be found by clicking here.
