Q&A: Time to End Section 230

Q&A: Time to End Section 230

With U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley

Q: What is Section 230?

A: Section 230 refers to the federal statute that provides legal immunity to Big Tech. The outdated law shields social media platforms and prevents parents and victims from seeking justice from online harm. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I'm co-sponsoring the bipartisan Sunset Section 230 Act to repeal this provision of the Communication Decency Act of 1996. This nearly 30-year old measure was written to give emerging internet entities the runway to get off the ground. It allowed social media companies to host and moderate third-party content unencumbered by the fear of costly litigation. Fast forward three decades, many of these entities are among the most powerful, profitable companies in the world; they use Section 230 to evade badly needed accountability. At the helm of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I've convened congressional hearings to gather expert testimony on child online exploitation to inform public policy; heard from witnesses exposing online child extortion rings, like the "764" network; and introduced bipartisan legislation to implement whistleblower protections in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry. I'll continue advocating for parents, including Deric and Kathy Kidd of Des Moines, who lost their son in 2021 when he took half of what he thought was a pain pill that was actually fentanyl.

Congress must take swift action to empower victims and send a message to Big Tech. With passage of our legislation, social media companies would no longer have license to profit from heinous material and drug trafficking pushed on their platforms with immunity. The day is long overdue to open the courthouse doors for victims of online crimes and exploitation to seek justice and hold wrongdoers accountable.

Q: What are the next steps in the new year?

A: I wrote a bipartisan letter alongside the cosponsors of the Sunset Section 230 Act and called upon the Senate Majority and Minority leaders to prioritize this issue and our bipartisan bill for next year's legislative calendar. Common sense says Section 230 has outlived its utility and instead fosters a breeding ground for online harms and criminal exploitation. The bottom line is clear: Big Tech is profiting at the expense of the American people, especially young people. Section 230 allows online predators to sexually groom and extort kids. Predators create and distribute AI-generated deepfake pornography; drug traffickers sell fentanyl-laced pills to teenagers; impressionable adolescents experience harm to their mental health, with online content exploiting body image issues, anxieties about isolation and stress over peer exclusion. Vulnerable victims and distraught parents are at their wit's end with no meaningful relief for exploited consumers. Policymakers need to put the American people first and open the door to our system of justice for the redress of grievances. Too many grieving parents will observe this holiday season another year without a precious son or daughter lost to online exploitation or drug trafficking.

When Congress returns to work in the new year, we've asked Senate leaders to dedicate a week in February to advance bipartisan legislation that protects children from online threats - including my landmark legislative package to target lax sentencing laws, violent online criminal networks and child sextortion crimes - and end the crisis that's cropped up after three decades of legal immunity once and for all. After 30 years in the wilderness of legal immunity, it's time to chop down Section 230 and give victims of online crimes their day in court and parents better peace of mind.

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