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meThe US government has launched another frontal attack on Internet companies such as Facebook and Twitter: the Department of Justice has now presented a bill intended, among other things, to avoid alleged censorship of these types of online platforms.
It follows a decree from President Donald Trump in May that went in a similar direction. Trump regularly complains that companies are biased against him and repress conservative political positions in his services.
Specifically, the ministry’s draft, like Trump’s decree, provides for a redesign of Section 230, part of a law that was passed in the 1990s. Section 230 protects online platforms from being held liable for the content of its users. On the other hand, it also gives them a wide margin of maneuver to decide what content to allow and what not.
Meeting with the attorneys general
The new bill revolves around both. First, companies should be more responsible in the future if they allow “criminal content” on their services.
The second point refers to the alleged censorship. And above all there is a political explosive in it, because: According to the will of the ministry, there should be restrictions on the removal of content in the future to avoid “arbitrary decisions.”
The bill is unlikely to have immediate practical consequences. It would have to be implemented by Congress, and that is unlikely, at least in the current election year.
But once again it underscores how much headwind the tech industry is currently feeling from Washington. On Wednesday, a meeting between Trump and the attorneys general of the US states also took place at the White House, which revolved around an alleged censorship on social networks.
Trump and Zuckerberg
Trump announced “concrete legal measures to protect an open Internet and a free society.” He said his government is monitoring “very, very closely” online platforms in light of the upcoming elections.
Trump has been complaining about social disadvantage for some time. Companies reject it. Even Trump, in turn, boasted that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had told him he was “number one” on his platform. Publications from the conservative political field are also among the most read content on Facebook.
However, the relationship between business and politics has deteriorated considerably recently. This has to do with the fact that Twitter and, more recently, Facebook are increasingly providing content from Trump or his environment with warning notices, for example, if they are classified as misleading.
Trump’s decree came shortly after Twitter added such a warning to one of its posts about the alleged potential for vote-by-mail fraud. Just a few days ago, Trump accused Twitter of only including content in his trending topics that made him look bad.
Facebook has long been more forgiving of Trump, but recently it has intervened more frequently. Zuckerberg also announced a series of measures just a few weeks ago to help maintain the integrity of the upcoming election, with some appearing to target Trump. For example, he announced warnings in case a candidate is declared a winner before there are reliable results.
The technology industry is not only targeted by the government for alleged censorship. Politicians and regulators are also currently concerned about their market power. The Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google shortly.
The market position of the tech giants is viewed critically by representatives of both parties. And “Section 230” is not just controversial among Republicans. Joe Biden, Trump’s rival in the upcoming election, has also called for abolition, albeit for different reasons. His main concern is to make the platforms more responsible for spreading false information.
