By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 7-15-20
A bill that would fund the FCC and Federal Trade Commission includes language that would limit the President’s effort to regulate social media, as well as provide billions to help better identify and close the digital divide, and use secure technology to do so.
A report on the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill includes a section on what the funds cannot be spent on, including this one deep into the summary of the bill:
“Section 637. The Committee includes a new provision prohibiting the Federal Trade Commission or Federal Communications Commission from taking certain actions related to Executive Order 13925 of May 28, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 34079).”
That was President Trump’s order on “preventing online censorship,” which included trying to weaken or eliminate the Sec. 230 exemption from civil liability social media sites get for their moderation of third party content, an exemption that protects them from lawsuits over content they take down or label, or content they choose to leave up. » Read More