Communications Decency Act Section 230 should be rewritten and tweaked, not repealed, House Republicans told us after President Donald Trump failed to dismantle the statute through must-pass spending bills. House Democrats agreed there’s bipartisan consensus on the need to rework the tech industry’s liability shield.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai condemned rioters who took over the Capitol Wednesday and President Donald Trump’s challenges to the results of the November election, which led to the attack (see 2101080026). Pai also said he won't proceed with an NPRM on Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2101080051), during an appearance on C-SPAN's Communicators posted online Friday. Pai, who's doing a round of appearances before his Jan. 20 departure, also highlighted his push for more openness at the FCC, during a Free State Foundation webinar.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai slammed Donald Trump over the outgoing president's rhetoric against the Nov. 3 election results, which led protesters to storm the Capitol Wednesday and turn violent. Pai also confirmed he won't propose changes to how the FCC interprets a tech liability shield law, conforming with expectations (see here and here).
President Donald Trump railed against what he sees as GOP resistance to outright repeal of Communications Decency Act Section 230. “I've been telling these Republicans get rid of Section 230 and for some reason [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky] and the group don't want to put it in there,” Trump said during a rally near the White House Wednesday, in support of his unfounded claims that he won reelection over Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. There were also protests at the Capitol amid Congress’ debate over certifying the election results that Biden won with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr were among those condemning protesters who stormed the Capitol (see 2101060054). Major tech companies and social media platforms “shadow ban you and it should be illegal,” Trump said. Republicans who resist Section 230 repeal “don't realize that's going to be the end of the Republican Party as we know it.” Pai hasn't advanced the FCC 230 proceeding (see 2101050060). Trump in waning days of last Congress continued pushing for Section 230 repeal, which McConnell eventually tied into a push for increased COVID-19 stimulus payments (see 2012290049).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made some of his toughest comments yet on China during Tuesday's Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar. Pai acknowledged he will leave office Jan. 20 and “hand the baton” to a new administration. Others in Washington, including at the FCC, haven't said if they agree that Joe Biden is the next president. That administration “will have to decide the approach that they are going to take to address the issue of security in our communications networks, and I hope that they succeed,” Pai said: “I’m optimistic that there won’t be any turning back.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai continues to hold off advancing the agency's Communications Decency Act Section 230 proceeding (see 2012230065). He has yet to circulate any item on 230, agency officials told us. Observers say this indicates the agency won't act on the section before Pai leaves Jan. 20, when Joe Biden is sworn in as president.
Industry praised Congress for overriding President Donald Trump's veto of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395), which includes several telecom and tech provisions (see 2012040043). The Senate voted 81-13 New Year's Day to override Trump's veto, an action he took partly because the measure lacked Section 230 language (see 2012230081). The House overrode the veto last week (see 2012290049). The Semiconductor Industry Association welcomed NDAA enactment of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act. HR-7178/S-3933 authorizes federal incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing and public-sector investments in semiconductor R&D (see 2012170061). It “will help propel U.S. economic growth and cement America’s position at the forefront of semiconductor innovation,” said Qorvo CEO Bob Bruggeworth, who chairs SIA. The NDAA hinders Ligado’s L-band plan, which the Satellite Safety Alliance called a "win for all." This "will enable" DOD to "take much-needed steps to bolster the U.S. government and industrial base cybersecurity defenses, modernize its technology, and enhance U.S. leadership in innovation," said Information Technology Industry Council Senior Vice President-Public Sector Policy Gordon Bitko. Repealing Section 230 would be better than rewriting the tech industry’s liability shield because the latter option would further encourage Big Tech censorship, Parler said in a statement Monday. “A politically viable re-write of Section 230 would transform Orwell’s 1984 from a dystopian novel into an instruction manual, requiring all platforms to adopt Twitter/Facebook/Google’s terms of service,” said Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set up a potential vote later this week Tuesday on S-5085, a measure that would repeal Communications Decency Act Section 230 and increase the amount of COVID-19 stimulus payments. He began the process to get the bill onto the Senate calendar in advance of floor action. McConnell teased the bill earlier that day when he said the chamber will "begin a process" this week "to bring ... into focus" President Donald Trump's renewed call to repeal or revamp Section 230. Trump cited the issue Sunday after signing (see 2012280052) the FY 2021 appropriations and pandemic aid omnibus bill (HR-133). Trump later urged lawmakers to "get rid of" Section 230 and "don't let Big Tech steal our Country." The House voted 322-87 Monday to override Trump's veto of the conference FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395), an action he took partly because the measure lacked Section 230 language (see 2012230081). HR-6395 includes other telecom and tech provisions (see 2012040043), including ones to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan, and it has the text of the Spectrum IT Modernization Act (HR-7310/S-3717). The Senate is also expected to hold an override vote Wednesday night.
President Donald Trump signed the FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133), which includes broadband funding and other telecom and tech policy provisions (see 2012210055). Trump’s signing Sunday came after he raised objections to parts of the measure last week (see 2012230078). He continued to criticize it in his signing statement, saying he’s “demanding many rescissions.” Congress “has promised” Communications Decency Act Section 230, “which so unfairly benefits Big Tech at the expense of the American people, will be reviewed and either be terminated or substantially reformed,” Trump said. “Big Tech must not get protections of Section 230!” It’s not clear what review Trump was referencing. Both chambers are to vote this week to override Trump’s veto of the conference FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395). He disapproved in part because it didn’t include language to repeal Section 230 (see 2012230081). The almost $7 billion in broadband funding included in HR-133 will promote "more ubiquitous deployment of secure high-speed broadband services," Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Andrew Long blogged Saturday.
President Donald Trump's Wednesday veto of the conference FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) sets up likely veto override votes early next week, with the House expected to reconvene Monday. Trump cited the measure’s lack of language to repeal Communications Decency Act Section 230, an issue that clouded the measure’s prospects just before passage earlier this month (see 2012020068). It includes other telecom and tech provisions (see 2012040043), including ones to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan, and it has the text of the Spectrum IT Modernization Act (HR-7310/S-3717). “Your failure to terminate the very dangerous national security risk of Section 230 will make our intelligence virtually impossible to conduct without everyone knowing what we are doing at every step,” Trump said in his veto message to Congress. HR-6395 “fails even to make any meaningful changes to” Section 230, “despite bipartisan calls for repealing that provision. Section 230 facilitates the spread of foreign disinformation online, which is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It must be repealed.” Both chambers approved HR-6395 by margins far above the threshold needed to overturn Trump’s disapproval. Trump “made it clear that he does not care about the needs of our military personnel and their families” by vetoing HR-6395, said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., in a statement. The bill “passed with overwhelming, veto-proof support in both the House and Senate, and I remain confident that Congress will override this harmful veto.” Lawmakers sought several times this year to revamp Section 230 (see 2012100072), including via the withdrawn Online Content Policy Modernization Act (S-4632). Industry officials are watching whether FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will seek a vote on a declaratory ruling on Section 230 before he leaves office, though he didn’t announce plans Wednesday to seek action on any items at the commission’s Jan. 13 meeting (see 2012230065).