Senators revive efforts to strip tech companies of key legal protection [View all]

Source: The Hill

04/02/25 6:00 AM ET


Senators from both sides of the aisle are reigniting efforts to crawl back technology companies’ legal immunities with hopes bipartisan support in Congress could push the bill across the finish line this session and gain the backing of President Trump.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are expected to soon introduce a bill to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in what would be one of the first bipartisan pushes in years to sunset the long-contested liability shield.

Pressure is ramping up on lawmakers, who failed to pass most related legislation last session despite major lobbying efforts from tech safety groups and families hoping to hold technology companies accountable for social media harms, specifically on young children. “The damage being done every year just gets worse,” Graham told The Hill. “There’s more support from the public [this session], the parents and grandparents feel helpless.”

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, often dubbed as the 26 words that created the internet, largely protects technology companies from being held legally responsible for third party or user consent. The law was passed in 1996, years ahead of the social media boom that transformed the internet over the next three decades.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5225737-senators-revive-efforts-to-strip-tech-companies-of-key-legal-protection/