Senate Dem Circulates Draft Legislation to Address Online Civil Rights Violations

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, is circulating online content-related legislation for potentially addressing civil rights violations in housing markets, Fordham University law professor Olivier Sylvain said Tuesday at the State of the Net conference. Hirono has been in discussions with Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine about Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 1908060064). Her office didn’t comment about a potential bill.

During the virtual conference, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said long-term solutions involving Section 230 need to involve reconsideration of “algorithmic amplification,” product design and legal liability. Separately, House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., circulated a memo with various Section 230 proposals, including a potential repeal of the tech industry’s liability shield.

McMorris Rodgers suggests a potential sunset or reauthorization for Section 230 and sought bipartisan solutions with Democrats. She backed considering an all-out repeal of liability protections when companies neglect Good Samaritan obligations.

McMorris Rodgers didn’t invoke her Section 230 memo during the conference, instead urging all U.S. tech stakeholders to unify against threats from Chinese government-financed entities. “I’m certainly not happy with Big Tech, but I believe we can still promote American global leadership while not turning a blind eye to problems we see here at home,” she said. “We must ensure emerging technologies such as [AI] are developed with Western values to counter and isolate China. It must be a collaborative approach.” She urged the FCC to continue the “aggressive” approach to repurposing spectrum for commercial use seen under former Chairman Ajit Pai “to maintain U.S. leadership.”

An overabundance of inaccurate information is online, including about COVID-19, said Eshoo during the conference. Removing misinformation is a start, and companies need to be more aggressive in removing harmful posts and content, she said.

Law professors Eric Goldman of Santa Clara University and Ellen Goodman of Rutgers said they oppose a repeal of Section 230. That option shouldn’t be part of the conversation, said Goldman: Section 230 is usually the solution to, not the source of, the problems cited by those who want to repeal. Sylvain said he’s “very wary” of a repeal, given the potential impact on startups. Sylvain called the Pact Act (see 2010010042) a “sensible approach,” saying its thresholds would allow startups to compete.

Legislation passed in 2018 to combat online sex trafficking (see 2007070060) could give Congress pause when considering further Section 230 carve-outs, said University of Chicago Law School professor Genevieve Lakier. The new law didn’t necessarily solve the problem, and it made sex workers’ lives worse, said Lakier. She spoke of the unprecedented power that Section 230 gives tech platforms: Nontransparent corporate players are making speech regulation decisions for everyone. Goodman urged Congress to focus on transparency and data portability, both of which have bipartisan support.

Various speakers on a separate panel welcomed Congress’ passage of a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to reestablish a national cyber director within the White House. When the last administration didn’t replace the cyber coordinator, it led to a lot of activity at federal agencies that was duplicative and wasn’t rationalized, said USTelecom Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer. It affected 5G and the supply chain, he added. White House leadership is a critical piece that’s been missing, said R Street Institute Director-Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats Tatyana Bolton.

Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated, said SentinelOne Chief Security Adviser Morgan Wright, describing the recent SolarWinds cyberattack that the U.S. government linked to Russia (see 2101190067). The perpetrators inserted code into update servers, and when users installed the updates, the hackers were able to get access to government client systems, said Wright, calling it “outstanding trade craft.” President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the attack Tuesday, according to the White House. Biden “made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies,” the White House said. “The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward.”