Biden: Revoke Liability Shield For Online Platforms

Axios reports:

A 1996 law that protects online platforms from liability for material their users post should be “revoked, immediately for Zuckerberg and other platforms,” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in a New York Times editorial board interview.

Why it matters: Inside the industry, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is seen as a cornerstone of the internet’s success in giving users a voice.

But as tech giants have consolidated their wealth and power, policymakers and industry critics — alarmed by the rise of online misinformation, privacy controversies and the impact of precision ad targeting — have zeroed in on Section 230 as a target.

From Biden’s interview:

“It should be revoked because [Facebook] is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy. You guys still have editors. I’m sitting with them. Not a joke. There is no editorial impact at all on Facebook. None. None whatsoever. It’s irresponsible. It’s totally irresponsible.”