Republican

Here's what's really important about the president's executive order: Everybody has free speech, First Amendment rights. What's different about these platforms is that Congress in the 1990s afforded them a very special and unique legal liability and protection that all other political actors don't enjoy. That maybe made sense when you had the Prodigy messaging board that was in Congress's mind. But flash-forward 20 years, these are now the largest, most powerful corporations when it comes to speech. So I think it's entirely appropriate for the president to say, is it time to take another look at Section 230 and whether that makes sense, given where we are today. … [Read more...] about FCC Republican excitedly endorses Trump’s crackdown on social media

The big picture: A group of Republican senators is making a new attempt to push legislation that would weaken the lawful use of encryption in devices and communication services, with the purported aim of giving law enforcement the upper hand against criminals and terrorists. As always, the proposal ignores the technical issues and is seen by pundits as a political posturing exercise that isn't likely to achieve anything. Republican senators Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), and Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) are proposing a new bill that seeks to deter companies from using so-called "warrant-proof" encryption. The bill is called the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, and would give law enforcement the ability to ask for access to encrypted data on a device based on "probable cause that a crime has occurred, authorizing law enforcement to search and seize the data." … [Read more...] about A trio of Republicans propose new bill to end “warrant-proof” encryption

Trump has the "right to examine any statute to see if it's being abused," O'Rielly said. But that doesn't mean the FCC has authority to act. "I do not believe it's the right of the agency to read into the statute authority that is not there," O'Rielly said. But he noted that the text in US law is sometimes not as "clear as it could be" and that vagueness in the law "provides an opportunity for the commission to act." That's one reason O'Rielly gave for his plan to "do due diligence on the statute itself for jurisdictional issues." … [Read more...] about FCC Republican has “deep reservations” about Trump’s social media crackdown

No Democratic lawmakers voted to repeal the privacy rules, even though elected officials from both major parties received plenty of financial donations from telecom companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. ISPs tend to spread their cash around to both parties in hopes of gaining favor throughout the government, but Republicans who voted to keep the privacy rules have not been rewarded as richly as Republicans who voted to eliminate them. … [Read more...] about Trump move to kill privacy rules opposed by 72% of Republicans, survey says

The bill is congressional Republicans most plausible proposal yet for peeling back the protections of 230, a goal that has gained broad support across the conservative movement. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Department of Justice is working on its own guidelines on platform immunity, which will emphasize that Section 230 does not immunize platforms that facilitate federal crimes, including terrorism and child exploitation. The document will also call on Congress to limit platform immunity for the arbitrary removal of content, a call that could plausibly be met by today’s bill. … [Read more...] about Senate Republicans want to make it easier to sue tech companies for bias