Title: Protect Speech Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Protect Speech Act
This bill modifies the immunity from liability of a provider or user of an interactive computer service (e.g., a social media company) for screening and blocking offensive content on its platform.
Specifically, the bill provides that this immunity shall not apply to any action taken to restrict access to or availability of material provided by another information content provider unless the action is taken in good faith based on an objectively reasonable belief that the material is (1) obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, promoting terrorism or violent extremism, harassing, promoting self-harm, or unlawful; or (2) violates the applicable terms of service or use.
In order to avoid liability for taking action based on either belief, certain good faith requirements must be met, such as (1) making publicly available terms of service or use that plainly state the criteria for content moderation practices, and (2) not restricting access to or availability of material on deceptive grounds.
Further, the bill specifies that being responsible in whole or in part for the creation or development of information includes instances in which a person or entity solicits, comments upon, funds, or affirmatively and substantively contributes to, modifies, or alters information provided by another person or entity.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8517 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8517

 To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure that 
   the immunity under such section incentivizes online platforms to 
responsibly address illegal content while not immunizing the disparate 
   treatment of ideological viewpoints and continuing to encourage a 
    vibrant, open, and competitive internet, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2020

Mr. Jordan (for himself, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Collins of 
     Georgia, Mr. Buck, Mr. Biggs, Mr. McClintock, Mrs. Lesko, Mr. 
 Reschenthaler, Mr. Cline, Mr. Steube, and Mr. Tiffany) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure that 
   the immunity under such section incentivizes online platforms to 
responsibly address illegal content while not immunizing the disparate 
   treatment of ideological viewpoints and continuing to encourage a 
    vibrant, open, and competitive internet, 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 ``Protect Speech Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

    Section 230(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Protection for `Good Samaritan' Blocking and Screening of 
Offensive Material.--
            ``(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No provider or user of an 
                interactive computer service shall be treated as the 
                publisher or speaker of any information provided by 
                another information content provider.
                    ``(B) Applicability of immunity.--Subparagraph (A) 
                shall not apply to any action by a provider or user of 
                an interactive computer service to restrict access to 
                or availability of material provided by another 
                information content provider. Any immunity under this 
                section for such action shall be provided solely by 
                paragraph (2).
                    ``(C) No liability for good faith removal.--For 
                purposes of subparagraph (A), no provider or user of an 
                interactive computer service shall be treated as the 
                publisher or speaker for any other information on the 
                service provided by another information content 
                provider solely on account of actions voluntarily taken 
                in good faith to restrict access to or availability of 
                specific material that the provider or user has an 
                objectively reasonable belief violates the terms of 
                service or use of the provider or user, as applicable.
            ``(2) Civil liability.--No provider or user of an 
        interactive computer service shall be held liable on account 
        of--
                    ``(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to 
                restrict access to or availability of material that the 
                provider or user has an objectively reasonable belief 
                is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively 
                violent, promoting terrorism or violent extremism, 
                harassing, promoting self-harm, or unlawful, whether or 
                not such material is constitutionally protected; or
                    ``(B) any action taken to enable or make available 
                to information content providers or others the 
                technical means to restrict access to material 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Liability for information.--Being responsible in 
        whole or in part for the creation or development of information 
        includes instances in which a person or entity solicits, 
        comments upon, funds, or affirmatively and substantively 
        contributes to, modifies, or alters information provided by 
        another person or entity.
            ``(4) Good faith.--In addition to the other applicable 
        requirements, in order for a provider or user to avoid 
        liability under paragraph (1)(C) or (2)(A), such provider or 
        user shall meet the following requirements, if applicable:
                    ``(A) Makes publicly available terms of service or 
                use that state plainly and with particularity the 
                criteria the interactive computer service employs in 
                content-moderation practices of the service.
                    ``(B) Restricts access to or availability of 
                material consistent with those terms of service or use 
                and with any official representations or disclosures 
                regarding the internet service provider's content-
                moderation practices.
                    ``(C) Does not restrict access to or availability 
                of material on deceptive grounds or apply terms of 
                service or use to restrict access to or availability of 
                material that is similarly situated to material that 
                the service intentionally declines to restrict.
                    ``(D) Supplies the provider of the material with 
                timely notice describing with particularity the 
                reasonable factual basis for the restriction of access 
                and a meaningful opportunity to respond, unless--
                            ``(i) a law enforcement agency asks that 
                        such notice not be made;
                            ``(ii) a service reasonably believes that 
                        the material relates to terrorism or other 
                        criminal activity; or
                            ``(iii) such notice would risk imminent 
                        harm to others.''.
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