Congress pushes bill to break the internet and censor websites—again

Actions by every single state in the country against websites and other applications would bring a new level of regulation to the internet never seen before: “In any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that a covered platform has violated or is violating section 103, 104, or 105, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in a district court of the United States or a State court of appropriate jurisdiction…” The bill also authorizes guidances and other regulations by the Federal Trade Commission against all websites and applications subject to the bill that would require content filtration on behalf of minors and other highly expensive mechanisms that could harm small businesses from functioning on the internet at all and otherwise would raise serious First Amendment concerns because it would fundamentally alter the content being published on these websites and applications.

On Sept. 18, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is marking up 16 pieces of legislation including the so-called Kids Online Safety Act and Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), both of which would dramatically erode liability protections that websites and applications currently enjoy under existing law including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Our bill gives Big Tech a choice: Work with Congress to ensure the internet is a safe, healthy place for good, or lose Section 230 protections entirely.” And the goal is censorship.

For example, in Section 110 of the Kids Online Safety Act, civil actions may be brought by states against “public-facing website, online service, online application, or mobile application that predominantly provides a community forum for user-generated content” including perceived “harms” allegedly inflicted upon users including minors.

That will limit the creation of new platforms, raising the question, does Congress even want a free and open internet?

The Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA are that other anticipated legislation.

All of these provisions would directly undermine core protections of websites and other applications that were enacted by Congress in 1996, including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. 

https://dailytorch.com/2024/09/congress-pushes-bill-to-break-the-internet-and-censor-websites-again/