Call your representatives in Washington and demand support for the Gohmert bill to hold tech giants accountable for censorship
by: Vicki Batts
NaturalNews.com
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Big Tech may finally have to face consequences for their actions, now that Rep. Louie Gohmert has introduced a bill that would strip them of their legal protections. Gohmert, a Republican and the elected representative from Texas’ 1st congressional district, says that his proposed legislation, previously labeled H.R. 7363, would make changes to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Big Tech has been accused of abusing their legal protections under section 230, which grants them both immunity to being held legally responsible for the content users post, as well as a loophole — which allows the industry to moderate content for “Good Samaritan” purposes.
Critics have said that Section 230 made sense when Big Tech wasn’t also acting as Big Thought Police. Some left-wingers have criticized Republican politicians seeking to amend Section 230, claiming that because the Act encourages some degree of content moderation, Big Tech is not violating the law.
The problem is that Big Tech is abusing their right to moderate content to such a degree that anyone who contradicts their left-wing agenda is labeled “hateful,” and they or their content end up getting removed, suspended or banned. This abuse of power is more than enough reason to call for changes to Section 230.
The Gohmert Bill
Rep. Gohmert recently issued the following statement, regarding his introduction of H.R. 7363:
“Social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are now among the largest and most powerful companies in the world. More and more people are turning to a social media platform for news than ever before, arguably making these companies more powerful than traditional media outlets. Yet, social media companies enjoy special legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, protections not shared by other media. Instead of acting like the neutral platforms they claim to be in order obtain their immunity, these companies have turned Section 230 into a license to potentially defraud and defame with impunity.”
Gohmert went on to note that leaders of the tech industry have repeatedly claimed that they do not target and censor conservatives or other political “dissidents,” while continuing their not-so-secret efforts at suppressing conservative points of view.
“But for all their reassurances, the disturbing trend continues unabated. Employees from some of these companies have communicated their disgust for conservatives and discussed ways to use social media platforms and algorithms to silence and prevent income to conservatives,” the politician stated.
H.R. 7363 would amend Section 230, such that social media platform owners or operators who “hinder the display of user-generated content” can be held liable for the content their users produce.
In other words, Big Tech can’t have it both ways: The industry must either be willing to uphold the right to free speech for ALL their users, or Big Tech must take responsibility for what is said on their platforms.
The Rest…HERE
