Title: Biased Algorithm Deterrence Act of 2019
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Biased Algorithm Deterrence Act of 2019
This bill provides that an owner or operator of a social media service shall be treated as a publisher or speaker of user-generated content (and, therefore, may potentially be held liable with respect to such content) if  the service or its algorithm does any of the following:

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 492 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 492

  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that an owner or 
  operator of a social media service that hinders the display of user-
 generated content shall be treated as a publisher or speaker of such 
                    content, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2019

 Mr. Gohmert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that an owner or 
  operator of a social media service that hinders the display of user-
 generated content shall be treated as a publisher or speaker of such 
                    content, 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 ``Biased Algorithm Deterrence Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO PROTECTION FROM TREATMENT AS PUBLISHER OR SPEAKER.

    Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Exception.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
                an owner or operator of a social media service that 
                displays user-generated content in an order other than 
                chronological order, delays the display of such content 
                relative to other content, or otherwise hinders the 
                display of such content relative to other content, if 
                for a reason other than to restrict access to or 
                availability of material described in paragraph (2)(A) 
                or to carry out the direction of the user that 
                generated such content, shall be treated as a publisher 
                or speaker of such content.
                    ``(B) Use of algorithms.--If an algorithm of a 
                social media service is used to engage in an action 
                related to user-generated content that is described in 
                subparagraph (A), such action shall be considered to be 
                the action of the owner or operator of the social media 
                service.''; and
            (2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Social media service.--The term `social media 
        service' means any interactive computer service provided over 
        the internet that connects users for the purpose of such users 
        engaging in dialogue, sharing information, collaborating, or 
        otherwise interacting.
            ``(6) User-generated content.--The term `user-generated 
        content' means content that is supplied on a social media 
        service by an information content provider who is a user of 
        such service.
            ``(7) Algorithm.--The term `algorithm' means a computer 
        program that performs any action described in subparagraph (A), 
        (B), or (C) of paragraph (4).''.
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