I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7613 
To repeal section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 and ensure 
reasonable, non-discriminatory access to online communications platforms. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2022 
Mrs. GREENE of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To repeal section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 
and ensure reasonable, non-discriminatory access to on-
line communications platforms. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Founda-
tion for the Right to Express and Engage in Speech Act’’ 
or the ‘‘21st Century FREE Speech Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REASONABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY ACCESS TO 
ONLINE 
COMMUNICATIONS 
PLATFORMS; 
BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF OFFENSIVE 
MATERIAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title II of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking section 230; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 232. REASONABLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY ACCESS TO 
ONLINE 
COMMUNICATIONS 
PLATFORMS; 
BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF OFFENSIVE 
MATERIAL. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) The rapidly developing array of internet 
and other interactive computer services available to 
individual Americans represent an extraordinary ad-
vance in the availability of educational and informa-
tional resources to our citizens. 
‘‘(2) These services often offer users a great de-
gree of control over the information that they re-
ceive, as well as the potential for even greater con-
trol in the future as technology continues to develop. 
‘‘(3) The internet and other interactive com-
puter services offer a forum for a true diversity of 
political discourse and viewpoints, unique opportuni-
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ties for cultural development, and myriad avenues 
for intellectual activity, and regulation of the inter-
net must be tailored to supporting those activities. 
‘‘(4) The internet and other interactive com-
puter services have flourished, to the benefit of all 
Americans, with a minimum of government regula-
tion, and regulation should be limited to what is nec-
essary to preserve the societal benefits provided by 
the internet. 
‘‘(5) Increasingly Americans rely on internet 
platforms and websites for a variety of political, edu-
cational, cultural, and entertainment services and for 
communication with one another. 
‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States— 
‘‘(1) to promote the continued development of 
the internet and other interactive computer services 
and other interactive media; 
‘‘(2) to preserve a vibrant and competitive free 
market for the internet and other interactive com-
puter services; 
‘‘(3) to encourage the development of tech-
nologies which maximize user control over what in-
formation is received by individuals, families, and 
schools who use the internet and other interactive 
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computer services, rather than control and censor-
ship driven by interactive computer services; 
‘‘(4) to facilitate the development and utiliza-
tion of blocking and filtering technologies that em-
power parents to restrict their children’s access to 
objectionable or inappropriate online material; 
‘‘(5)(A) to ensure that the internet serves as an 
open forum for— 
‘‘(i) a true diversity of discourse and view-
points, including political discourse and view-
points; 
‘‘(ii) unique opportunities for cultural de-
velopment; and 
‘‘(iii) myriad avenues for intellectual activ-
ity; and 
‘‘(B) given that the internet is the dominant 
platform for communication and public debate today, 
to ensure that major internet communications plat-
forms, which function as common carriers in terms 
of their size, usage, and necessity, are available to 
all users on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms 
free from public or private censorship of religious 
and political speech; 
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‘‘(6) to promote consumer protection and trans-
parency regarding information and content manage-
ment practices by major internet platforms to— 
‘‘(A) ensure that consumers understand— 
‘‘(i) the products they are using; and 
‘‘(ii) what information is being pre-
sented to them and why; and 
‘‘(B) prevent deceptive or undetectable ac-
tions that filter the information presented to 
consumers; and 
‘‘(7) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal 
criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in on-
line obscenity, stalking, and harassment. 
‘‘(c) REASONABLE
AND NONDISCRIMINATORY AC-
CESS TO COMMON CARRIER TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A common carrier tech-
nology company, with respect to the interactive com-
puter service provided by the company— 
‘‘(A) shall furnish the interactive computer 
service to all persons upon reasonable request; 
‘‘(B) may not unjustly or unreasonably dis-
criminate in charges, practices, classifications, 
regulations, facilities, treatment, or services for 
or in connection with the furnishing of the 
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interactive computer service, directly or indi-
rectly, by any means or device; 
‘‘(C) may not make or give any undue or 
unreasonable preference or advantage to any 
particular person, class of persons, political or 
religious group or affiliation, or locality; and 
‘‘(D) may not subject any particular per-
son, class of persons, political or religious group 
or affiliation, or locality to any undue or unrea-
sonable prejudice or disadvantage. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY
TO
BROADBAND.—Para-
graph (1) shall not apply with respect to the provi-
sion of broadband internet access service. 
‘‘(d) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND TRANSPARENCY 
REGARDING COMMON CARRIER TECHNOLOGY COMPA-
NIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A common carrier tech-
nology company shall disclose, through a publicly 
available, easily accessible website, accurate material 
regarding the content management, moderation, pro-
motion, account termination and suspension, and 
curation mechanisms and practices of the company 
sufficient to enable— 
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‘‘(A) consumers to make informed choices 
regarding use of the interactive computer serv-
ice provided by the company; and 
‘‘(B) persons to develop, market, and 
maintain consumer-driven content management 
mechanisms with respect to the interactive com-
puter service provided by the company. 
‘‘(2) BEST PRACTICES.—The Commission, after 
soliciting comments from the public, shall publish 
best practices for common carrier technology compa-
nies to disclose content management, moderation, 
promotion, account termination and suspension, and 
curation mechanisms and practices in accordance 
with paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY
TO
BROADBAND.—Para-
graph (1) shall not apply with respect to the provi-
sion of broadband internet access service. 
‘‘(e) PROTECTION FOR ‘GOOD SAMARITAN’ BLOCK-
ING AND SCREENING OF OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.— 
‘‘(1) TREATMENT
OF
PUBLISHER
OR
SPEAK-
ER.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No provider or user of 
an interactive computer service shall be treated 
as the publisher or speaker of any material pro-
vided by another information content provider. 
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‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
shall not apply to any affirmative act by a pro-
vider or user of an interactive computer service 
with respect to material posted on the inter-
active computer service, whether the act is car-
ried out manually or through use of an algo-
rithm or other automated or semi-automated 
process, including— 
‘‘(i) providing its own material; 
‘‘(ii) commenting or editorializing on, 
promoting, recommending, or increasing or 
decreasing the dissemination or visibility to 
users of its own material or material pro-
vided by another information content pro-
vider; 
‘‘(iii) restricting access to or avail-
ability of material provided by another in-
formation content provider; or 
‘‘(iv) barring or limiting any informa-
tion content provider from using the inter-
active computer service. 
‘‘(2) CIVIL LIABILITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No provider or user of 
an interactive computer service shall be held lia-
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ble, under subsection (c) or otherwise, on ac-
count of— 
‘‘(i) any action voluntarily taken in 
good faith to restrict access to or avail-
ability of material that the provider or user 
considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, 
filthy, excessively violent, harassing, pro-
moting self-harm, or unlawful, whether or 
not such material is constitutionally pro-
tected; or 
‘‘(ii) any action taken to enable or 
make available to information content pro-
viders or others the technical means to re-
strict access to material described in clause 
(i). 
‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘excessively violent’, with 
respect to material, means material that— 
‘‘(I) is likely to be deemed violent 
and for mature audiences according to 
the V-chip regulations and TV Paren-
tal Guidelines of the Commission pro-
mulgated under sections 303(x) and 
330(c)(4); or 
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‘‘(II) constitutes or intends to 
advocate domestic terrorism or inter-
national terrorism, as defined in sec-
tion 2331 of title 18, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘harassing’ means mate-
rial that— 
‘‘(I) is— 
‘‘(aa) provided by an infor-
mation content provider with the 
intent to abuse, threaten, or har-
ass any specific person; and 
‘‘(bb) lacking in any serious 
literary, artistic, political, or sci-
entific value; 
‘‘(II) violates the CAN–SPAM 
Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.); 
or 
‘‘(III) is malicious computer code 
intended (whether or not by the im-
mediate disseminator) to damage or 
interfere with the operation of a com-
puter; 
‘‘(iii) the term ‘in good faith’, with re-
spect to restricting access to or availability 
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of specific material, means the provider or 
user— 
‘‘(I) restricts access to or avail-
ability of material consistent with 
publicly available online terms of serv-
ice or use that— 
‘‘(aa) state plainly and with 
particularity the criteria that the 
provider or user of the interactive 
computer service employs in its 
content moderation practices, in-
cluding by any partially or fully 
automated processes; and 
‘‘(bb) are in effect on the 
date on which the material is 
first posted; 
‘‘(II) has an objectively reason-
able belief that the material falls with-
in one of the categories listed in sub-
paragraph (A)(i); 
‘‘(III)(aa) does not restrict access 
to or availability of material on decep-
tive or pretextual grounds; and 
‘‘(bb) does not apply its terms of 
service or use to restrict access to or 
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availability of material that is simi-
larly situated to material that the pro-
vider or user of the interactive com-
puter service intentionally declines to 
restrict; and 
‘‘(IV) supplies the information 
content provider of the material with 
timely notice describing with particu-
larity the reasonable factual basis for 
the restriction of access and a mean-
ingful opportunity to respond, unless 
the provider or user of the interactive 
computer service has an objectively 
reasonable belief that— 
‘‘(aa) the material is related 
to terrorism or criminal activity; 
or 
‘‘(bb) such notice would risk 
imminent physical harm to oth-
ers; and 
‘‘(iv) the terms ‘obscene’, ‘lewd’, ‘las-
civious’, and ‘filthy’, with respect to mate-
rial, mean material that— 
‘‘(I) taken as a whole— 
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‘‘(aa) appeals to the prurient 
interest in sex or portrays sexual 
conduct in a patently offensive 
way; and 
‘‘(bb) does not have serious 
literary, artistic, political, or sci-
entific value; 
‘‘(II) depicts or describes sexual 
or excretory organs or activities in 
terms patently offensive to the aver-
age person, applying contemporary 
community standards; or 
‘‘(III) signifies the form of immo-
rality which has relation to sexual im-
purity, taking into account the stand-
ards at common law in prosecutions 
for obscene libel. 
‘‘(C) BEST PRACTICES.—The Commission, 
after soliciting comments from the public, shall 
publish best practices for making publicly avail-
able online terms of service or use that state 
plainly and with particularity the criteria that 
the provider or user of an interactive computer 
service employs in its content moderation prac-
tices, including by any partially or fully auto-
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mated processes, in accordance with subpara-
graph (B)(iii)(I). 
‘‘(f) VIOLATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person aggrieved by 
a violation of subsection (c) or (d) may bring a 
civil action against the provider or user of an 
interactive computer service that committed the 
violation for any relief permitted under sub-
paragraph (B) of this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) RELIEF.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plaintiff may 
seek the following relief in a civil action 
brought under subparagraph (A): 
‘‘(I) An injunction. 
‘‘(II) An award that is the great-
er of— 
‘‘(aa) actual damages; or 
‘‘(bb) 
damages 
in 
the 
amount of $500 for each viola-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) WILLFUL
OR
KNOWING
VIOLA-
TIONS.—In a civil action brought under 
subparagraph (A), if the court finds that 
the defendant willfully or knowingly vio-
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