Title: Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act
This bill limits the immunity of a provider or user of an interactive computer service (i.e., social media platform) for screening and blocking offensive material on the service's platform, revises the applicability of civil liability for this moderation of offensive material, and changes a definition that governs applicability of the immunity.
Under current law, this immunity protects a provider or user of a social media platform from being treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another information content provider.
The bill removes this immunity from a decision, agreement, or action by a provider or user of a social media platform to restrict access to or availability of material provided by another information content provider. To avoid liability for this conduct, in addition to acting in good faith, the bill requires that the actor must have an objectively reasonable belief that the material is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, promoting self-harm, promoting terrorism, or unlawful. Currently, a good faith actor must only consider such material to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.
Further, the bill redefines information content provider to encompass any person who editorializes or affirmatively and substantively modifies the content of another person or entity.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4534

 To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the 
    scope of protection from civil liability for ``good Samaritan'' 
             blocking and screening of offensive material.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 8, 2020

Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Graham, and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the 
    scope of protection from civil liability for ``good Samaritan'' 
             blocking and screening of offensive material.

    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 ``Online Freedom and Viewpoint 
Diversity Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR ``GOOD SAMARITAN'' BLOCKING 
              AND SCREENING OF OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.

    Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``No provider'' and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--No provider''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Applicability.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subparagraph (A) shall 
                        not apply to any decision or agreement made or 
                        action taken by a provider or user of an 
                        interactive computer service to restrict access 
                        to or availability of material provided by 
                        another information content provider.
                            ``(ii) Civil liability.--Any applicable 
                        immunity for a decision or agreement made or 
                        action taken by a provider or user of an 
                        interactive computer service described in 
                        clause (i) shall be provided solely by 
                        paragraph (2).''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``considers to be'' 
                                and inserting ``has an objectively 
                                reasonable belief is''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``or otherwise 
                                objectionable'' and inserting 
                                ``promoting self-harm, promoting 
                                terrorism, or unlawful''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``subparagraph 
                        (A)''; and
            (2) in subsection (f)(3)--
                    (A) by striking ``The term'' and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The term''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Responsibility.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (A), being responsible in whole or in part for the 
                creation or development of information--
                            ``(i) includes any instance in which a 
                        person or entity editorializes or affirmatively 
                        and substantively modifies the content of 
                        another person or entity; and
                            ``(ii) does not include a change to the 
                        format, layout, or basic appearance of the 
                        content of another person or entity.''.
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