DOJ Proposes Broad Overhaul of Legal Shield for Facebook, Google

(Bloomberg) — The Justice Department on Wednesday outlined a broad overhaul of legal protections for online platforms such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. if they promote illegal speech on their websites.

The recommendations for legislation follow a feud between President Donald Trump and Twitter Inc., which last month slapped fact-checks on some of his tweets, prompting him to issue an executive order aiming to narrow the liability shield enjoyed by social-media companies. Trump and his supporters contend they’re treated unfairly when their assertions are challenged or blocked by the companies.

The companies enjoy immunity from lawsuits over content that users post under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The provision, which doesn’t apply to violations of federal criminal law, has become a target of lawmakers from both parties who object to its breadth and describe it as a giveaway to technology companies.

The proposal would limit the shield when platforms “purposefully promote, solicit, or facilitate the posting of material that the platform knew or had reason to believe would violate federal criminal law,” according to a Justice Department statement. It would also limit it in cases involving online child exploitation, terrorism and stalking.

Tech company allies slammed reports of the proposal on Wednesday. Jon Berroya, interim president of the industry’s Internet Association trade group, said in a statement that the Justice Department’s proposal “will make it harder, not easier, for online platforms to make their platforms safe.”

“The threat of litigation for every content moderation decision would hamper IA member companies’ ability to set and enforce community guidelines,” said Berroya, whose group counts Twitter, Facebook and Google as members.

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