Health Misinformation Act of 2021
Bill: S.2448 | Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Health Misinformation Act of 2021
This bill limits liability protection that applies to a provider of an interactive computer service (e.g., a social media company) for claims related to content provided by third parties if a provider promotes health misinformation during a declared public health emergency.
Specifically, the liability protection (sometimes referred to as Section 230 protection) shall not apply to a provider that promotes health misinformation using an algorithm unless the algorithm uses a neutral mechanism for the promotion, such as chronological functionality.
The Department of Health and Human Services must, within 30 days, issue guidance about what constitutes health misinformation.

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, under certain 
circumstances, an interactive computer service provider that allows for 
 the proliferation of health misinformation through that service shall 
be treated as the publisher or speaker of that misinformation, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Misinformation Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Access to accurate and reliable information is crucial 
        for public health and safety during a national emergency or 
        crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (2) On January 27, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services determined that a public health emergency existed 
        under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        247d), as a result of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United 
        States.
            (3) As of the date of enactment of this Act, in the United 
        States, there have been more than 34,000,000 cases of COVID-19 
        and more than 600,000 deaths resulting from COVID-19.
            (4) Since the declaration of the public health emergency 
        described in paragraph (2), misinformation and disinformation 
        relating to COVID-19 have spread at an alarming rate, which 
        has--
                    (A) hindered the public response efforts of 
                Federal, State, local, and indigenous leaders; and
                    (B) endangered lives.
            (5) The COVID-19 pandemic is the first pandemic in human 
        history during which--
                    (A) the internet is being used to keep individuals 
                informed and connected; and
                    (B) misinformation and disinformation about the 
                disease, and about treatments and preventative measures 
                with respect to the disease, including vaccines, have 
                proliferated on the internet and through the use of 
                social media.
            (6) Features that are built into technology platforms have 
        contributed to the spread of misinformation and disinformation, 
        with social media platforms incentivizing individuals to share 
        content to get likes, comments, and other positive signals of 
        engagement, which rewards engagement rather than accuracy.
            (7) Social media companies use algorithms that determine 
        what material users see online, and those algorithms often 
        prioritize content based on the popularity of the content, or 
        similarity to previously seen content, which means that a user 
        exposed to information once could see more of that kind of 
        information over time, furthering the effects of misinformation 
        and disinformation.
            (8) One study has found that as much as 65 percent of 
        misinformation and disinformation on the internet and social 
        media relating to the COVID-19 vaccines can be traced back to 
        12 individuals and another study has found that even brief 
        exposure to misinformation relating to the COVID-19 vaccines 
        makes individuals less likely to want to receive one of those 
        vaccines.
            (9) The COVID-19 pandemic remains an ongoing threat and 
        there is a need to ensure that social media platforms do their 
        part in promoting accurate scientific information to users of 
        those platforms.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF PUBLISHER OR SPEAKER.

    (a) In General.--Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 230), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``No provider'' and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), no provider''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Exception.--A provider of an interactive 
                computer service shall be treated as the publisher or 
                speaker of health misinformation that is created or 
                developed through the interactive computer service 
                during a covered period if the provider promotes that 
                health misinformation through an algorithm used by the 
                provider (or similar software functionality), except 
                that this subparagraph shall not apply if that 
                promotion occurs through a neutral mechanism, such as 
                through the use of chronological functionality.''; and
            (2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Covered period.--The term `covered period' means a 
        period during which a public health emergency declared by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), including a renewal 
        of any such declaration, is in effect.''.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies and 
outside experts determined appropriate by the Secretary, shall issue 
guidance regarding what constitutes health misinformation for the 
purposes of subparagraph (B) of section 230(c)(1) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)), as added by subsection (a) of this 
section.
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