Sen. Hawley Introduces Legislation That Goes After Big Tech For Selective Censorship

Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation that would let users sue Big Tech companies if they have been victims of selective censorship policies.

Republican Senators Back Bill Cracking Down On Big Tech

Hawley, along with Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and Mike Braun, introduced the Limiting Section 230 Immunity to Good Samaritans Act.

If implemented, it would stop Big Tech companies from receiving their “liability shield” that they have under the Section 230 Communications and Decency Act. This allows them to not be sued for something a user posted on their site, as they are “platforms,” not “publishers” with an editorial policy.

However, they can avoid this loss of liability protection if they update their terms of service and include “pledges to operate in good faith,” along with details on how they implement their content moderation policies, Hawley’s office told Axios.

Hawley’s bill allows anyone who believes the provider “is not operating in good faith,” in that they have not been consistently applying their content moderation policies to people of all political stripes, to be able to sue the Big Tech company for up to $5,000 plus attorney fees.

Today I’m introducing new legislation to combat #BigTech censorship. It gives users the right to sue if the big platforms enforce their terms unfairly or unequally. Proud to be joined by ⁦@marcorubio⁩ ⁦@SenTomCotton ⁦@SenatorBraun⁩ https://t.co/OcvXfHXPYk

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) June 17, 2020

RELATED: Matt Gaetz Drafting Bill To Stop Big Tech Companies From Instituting Biased ‘Fact Checking’ On Their Platforms

Just What We Needed!

It follows President Donald Trump’s executive order from last month, that also targeted the Section 230 liability shield. President Trump argued that when Big Tech companies make decisions to “suppress, blacklist, [or] shadowban” people on their platforms, they are editorial decisions.

“In those moments, Twitter ceases to be a neutral, public platform, and they become an editor with a view point, and I think we can say that about others also,” the President argued.

This bill from Hawley going after Big Tech couldn’t come soon enough. For too long, conservatives (and sometimes, those not on the mainstream left) have suffered from excessive moderation and over-application of social media regulations.

Conservative creators are banned for their first, smallest infraction, while violent content from leftists is often allowed to remain. This is discrimination is exactly what the legislation will tackle, so let’s pray it passes.