A bipartisan effort in the Senate is attempting to sunset the long-contested liability shield given to technology companies, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, are making efforts to introduce a bill that would sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in two years, which currently largely protects technology companies from being held legally responsible for third party or user consent.
The law was passed in 1996, well ahead of the social media boom that transformed the internet over the next three decades.
Lawmakers pressing for reform of Section 230 have long contended that the internet is vastly different than it was before the turn of the century, and the law needs to be updated to reflect these changes.
"To the extent this protection was ever needed, its usefulness has long since passed," said Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Lawmakers failed to pass most related legislation last session, despite major lobbying efforts from tech safety groups and families seeking to hold technology companies accountable for social media harms, specifically on young children.
"The damage being done every year just gets worse," Graham told The Hill. "There's more support from the public [this session]."
The forthcoming bill is "in the works," according to a spokesperson for Graham.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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