NEUTRAL PLATFORM OR BIASED PUBLISHER?

Texas congressman, Louie Gohmert, has introduced a bill to remove “special legal protections” that social media
companies enjoy even if they behave like biased publishers rather than neutral platforms.
NEUTRAL PLATFORM OR BIASED PUBLISHER?

Congressman Gohmert has released a statement regarding the introduction of his bill, H.R.7363.
Social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, the statement says, are now among the largest and most
powerful companies in the world. More and more people are turning to a social media platform for news than ever before, arguably making these companies more powerful than traditional media outlets.

Yet, social media companies enjoy special legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, protections not shared by other media. Instead of acting like the neutral platforms they claim to be in order obtain their immunity, these companies have turned Section 230 into a license to potentially defraud and defame
with impunity The statement notes that representatives of social media companies have testified in congressional hearings that they do not discriminate against or filter out conservative voices on their platforms.
But for all their reassurances, the “disturbing trend” continues unabated.

Employees from some of these companies have communicated their disgust for conservatives and discussed ways to use
social media platforms and algorithms to silence and prevent income to conservatives.
The statement cites one hearing where one of the internet social media executives indicated a desire to be
treated like Fox News. “Fox News does not have their immunity and this bill will fulfill
that unwitting request” says the statement.

The statement says that since there still appears to be no sincere effort to stop the “disconcerting behavior”, it is time for social media companies to be liable for any biased and unethical impropriety of their employees as any other media company.

“If these companies want to continue to act like a biased medium and publish their own agendas to the detriment of others, they need to be held accountable,” the statement concludes.