Online Liability Protection Reform May Lead to More “Harmful Content”: Jack Dorsey (file)
Washington:
Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said in prepared remarks for Congress on Tuesday that proposed reform of a law providing online liability protection could lead to more “harmful content” by limiting capacity platforms to remove abusive content.
Dorsey’s comments came in prepared testimony due to be given at a Senate hearing Wednesday on reforming a contentious law governing the Internet.
The Senate Commerce Committee was scheduled to hear Dorsey as well as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the law known as Section 230, which protects online services from liability for content posted by them. other.
Defenders of the law say it is a cornerstone of the internet allowing online services to thrive without fear of a flood of litigation, but attacks on the law are on the rise across the political spectrum.
Some political leaders and activists have argued that section 230 is too lenient and allows for the proliferation of abusive content and incitement to violence; Republicans, for their part, argued that it could be applied unfairly, giving platforms the right to suppress Tories.
Dorsey said in her remarks that Section 230, as currently drafted, gives online services the flexibility to remove “hate speech” and other inappropriate content, and that the law underpins the world of social media where anyone can post comments.
“Section 230’s base erosion could cause the way we communicate on the internet to fail, leaving only a small number of giant, well-funded tech companies,” Dorsey said.
“We also need to keep in mind that undermining Section 230 will result in a much greater suppression of online discourse and place severe limitations on our collective ability to deal with harmful content and protect people online. “
He added, “I don’t think anyone in this room or Americans want less free speech or more abuse and harassment online. Instead, what I’m hearing from people, c ‘is that they want to be able to trust the services they use. “
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the panel, has already introduced with his colleagues a bill that would limit the immunity shield by requiring platforms to exercise “objective reasonableness” when withdrawing from the market. content.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
