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Bill Would Strip Social Media of Protections for Health Misinformation
Wall Street Journal ^ | July 22, 2021 | Siobhan Hughes

Posted on 07/22/2021 12:17:03 PM PDT by karpov

WASHINGTON—Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill Thursday that would strip online platforms such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. of liability protections if their technology spreads misinformation about coronavirus vaccines or other public-health emergencies.

The bill, which Ms. Klobuchar (D., Minn.) has previously telegraphed was in the works, would create an exception to the law known as Section 230 that shields internet platforms from lawsuits for content generated by their users and other third parties.

At a congressional hearing last year, Big Tech executives signaled cautious support for modifying Section 230, a provision in the 1996 Communications Decency Act that generally shields internet platforms from liability for content posted by users on their sites.

The bill’s introduction follows a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which found that a significant amount of false information about vaccines comes from 12 social-media users.

The vast majority of patients driving up Covid-19 hospitalizations in parts of the U.S. are unvaccinated, according to hospitals. President Biden last week said that Facebook and other companies were killing people by serving as platforms for misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. He later clarified his comments by saying that he wasn’t accusing Facebook of killing people, but that he instead wanted the company to “do something about the misinformation, the outrageous information about the vaccine.”

Facebook has rejected the Biden administration’s criticisms. In a blog post, Facebook said that 85% of its users in the U.S. have been or want to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Facebook also said it was doing its part to help get more Americans vaccinated, such as by operating pop-up vaccine clinics in low-income and underserved communities in California and other states.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: 1st; censorship; facebook; freespeech; klobuchar
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To: karpov

amy knucklehead is grandstanding: if her fake “bill” actually used the word “misinformation” and passed into law, it’d be thrown out in a heartbeat as unconstitutionally vague ...


21 posted on 07/22/2021 12:38:48 PM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: karpov
Is Verizon liable for what I say in my phone call? NO.

Facebook and Twitter are BOTH PUBLIC UTILITIES MASQUERADING AS PUBLISHERS.

FB & Twit are about as much a publisher as Verizon, AT&T, etc., are..

THIS WHOLE THING IS OUT OF WHACK!

22 posted on 07/22/2021 12:38:51 PM PDT by CivilWarBrewing (Get off my back for my usage of CAPS, especially you snowflake males! MAN UP!)
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To: Seruzawa

The tech types are fixin to find out what the term “useful idiot” is.


23 posted on 07/22/2021 12:42:10 PM PDT by Texas resident (Silver alert: There is a guy running around DC claiming he is the President.)
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To: Wuli

My first point was:

“They are trying to single out web “misinformation” and liability regarding it to merely not towing an official government line. Censorship Soviet style courtesy of the Dims.”

And if Trump and the GOP would have tried this sort of thing the screech and howl claiming the tactic was “anti democratic”, “autocratic”, “Nazi-like” by Pelsoi et al would have been heard 24/7/365 around the globe.

If there is two things you can be sure of with the Dims it is hypocrisy and accusing their opponents of doing what they think is O.K. for them to do.


24 posted on 07/22/2021 12:44:22 PM PDT by Wuli
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To: karpov
(from the article):" Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill Thursday that would strip online platforms such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. of liability protections
if their technology spreads misinformation about coronavirus vaccines or other public-health emergencies."

Why set the strictly to coronavirus vaccines or other public-health emergencies. ?
Obviously, Amy Klobuchar is content with all their selective censorship in political and other matters.
Go pound sand, Amy ! Just more double standard by the hypocrite party !

25 posted on 07/22/2021 12:50:29 PM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt
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To: TigersEye

>>If this bill were to become law then “Social Media” would have to ban all health information coming from the government.<<

“The legislation leaves it up to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for declaring public health emergencies, to define what constitutes health misinformation. “

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019346177/democrats-want-to-hold-social-media-companies-responsible-for-health-misinformat

So ONLY info from, or approved by, the CDC would be allowed on social media, and ALL communication contradicting or casting doubt on CDC communications would be banned.


26 posted on 07/22/2021 12:50:49 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 ("Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -- Voltaire)
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To: PapaBear3625

So, misinformation that changes weekly. And has a nice CDC logo on it.


27 posted on 07/22/2021 12:53:31 PM PDT by TigersEye (Who shot Ashli Babbitt?)
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To: kiryandil

Amy “Hydroxychloroquine” Klobuchar weighs in...


Indeed. That’s what reportedly saved her hubby’s life, when he contracted China Virus.

Everyone should be so lucky. But, no.

She probably hated that her hubby’s illness and treatment spread like wildfire, on social media (before MSM picked it up).


28 posted on 07/22/2021 1:09:07 PM PDT by Jane Long (America, Bless God....blessed be the Nation.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“This is just to give them cover for the Covid blackout.”

I fully expect blackouts. They want complete power, whatever it takes, and they don’t fear showing it now..


29 posted on 07/22/2021 1:35:21 PM PDT by polymuser (A socialist is a communist without the power to take everything from their citizens...yet.)
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To: karpov

This is not about doing anything about Facebook or Twitter. It is about making our opinions illegal.


30 posted on 07/22/2021 1:37:27 PM PDT by EastTexasTraveler
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To: CivilWarBrewing

Verizon doesn’t drop your call based on its content. FB does exactly that - and are therefore publishers.


31 posted on 07/22/2021 1:39:17 PM PDT by MortMan (Shouldn't "palindrome" read the same forward and backward?)
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