‘Safe Tech Act’ could strip Section 230 protections for harmful content

U.S. Capitol building. | Photo by Louis Velazquez on Unsplash. Article by Mike Peterson. AppleInsider – February 8, 2021.

A trio of Democratic Senators have unveiled a new bill dubbed the Safe Tech Act that would fundamentally change Section 230 and could make internet companies with any monetization at all liable for user-generated content.

The proposed legislation, introduced by senators Mark Warner, Mazie Hirono, and Amy Klobuchar, makes several key changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which currently shields internet companies from liability for user-posted content.

One of those changes is an alternation of the core language of Section 230 that could strip protections in situations where payments are involved — whether the provider or user has accepted payment to make the speech available, or has funded the creation of the speech in any way, including ads served in the content. In a tweet, Sen. Warner said that online ads are “a key vector for all manner of frauds and scams.” […]

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