In an recent interview with The New York Times former Vice President Joe Biden called for tech’s biggest liability shield, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, to be revoked, immediately.
Biden said: “The idea that it’s a tech company is that Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms. It should be revoked because it is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false.”
Joe Biden: "I, for one, think we should be considering taking away [Facebook's] exemption that they cannot be sued for knowingly engaged on, in promoting something that's not true." pic.twitter.com/p8Moh2fyJy
— The Hill (@thehill) November 12, 2019
The Communications Decency Act is over 20 years old, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have started to seek changes to the law as a remedy for all kinds of problems they have with platforms and moderation.
Now this isn’t the first time Biden criticized the immensely important internet law. In previous interviews with outlets like CNN, Biden has said that we should be considering taking away [Facebook’s] exemption, but has never ventured as far as saying that it should be completely revoked.
Republicans have made similar criticisms against companies like Facebook and Twitter in recent months, calling the platforms out for what they believe is bias against conservatives. Both Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have floated changes to the law to address the alleged censorship.
