Sen. Amy Klobuchar aims to end immunity for companies that allow the spread of health misinformation
Minnesota Democrats pressed Republicans and others to encourage vaccination and limit the spread of misinformation as new COVID-19 cases ticked up in the state. 5:00 pm, Jul. 22, 2021 ×
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is seen in Rochester, Minn., in this June 11, 2021, file photo. Klobuchar on Thursday, July 22, 2021, introduced a bill that would hold digital platforms to account if they allow for the publication or sharing of health-related misinformation. (Randy Petersen / Forum News Service)
ST. PAUL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday, July 22, introduced a bill that would hold digital platforms to account if they allow for the publication or sharing of health-related misinformation.
Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
Updated July 22, 2021 at 3:59 PM ET
Democratic senators introduced a bill on Thursday that would hold Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies responsible for the proliferation of falsehoods about vaccines, fake cures and other harmful health-related claims on their sites.
Co-sponsored by Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, the Health Misinformation Act targets a provision in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms from being held liable for what their users post in most cases.
The bill would strip the companies of that legal shield if their algorithms promote health misinformation during a public health crisis. It would not apply if such misinformation is shown in a chronological feed. (Most social platforms use algorithms to rank posts based on what they think users will be interested in,)
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Senate Democrats introduced a bill on Thursday that would make Facebook liable for “misinformation” about the global pandemic.
The Health Misinformation Act, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), would use the Department of Health and Human Services to open social media platforms like Facebook up to liability for misinformation about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccine.
Section 230 currently protects social media platforms from liability for illegal content posted by third-party users.
The bill would enable the secretary of Health and Human Services to issue “guidelines” on what content would be classified as “health misinformation.”
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Senate Democrats introduced new legislation Thursday to hold social media platforms accountable for health-related misinformation during public health emergencies, a move that could cause more censorship during crises similar to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Health Misinformation Act, introduced by Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the controversial liability shield for user-generated content online. If passed, the legislation would allow social media giants, such as Facebook and YouTube, to be sued for dangerous health misinformation on their platforms.
The bill would direct the Health and Human Services secretary to issue guidelines about what constitutes health misinformation.
July 23, 2021
published at 2:27 AMReuters
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 20, 2021
Reuters
WASHINGTON - Two Democratic US senators on Thursday (July 22) will add to the stack of Bills going after Section 230 - a law that protects tech companies from being sued over content posted by users - making such platforms responsible for health-related misinformation.
The legislation introduced by Amy Klobuchar and Ben Ray Lujan requires Internet platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet s Google to take down health and vaccine-related misinformation during public health emergencies or be held liable for that failure.