ACLU Comment on FCC Chairman’s Plan to Rewrite Section 230

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced he plans to move forward with a rulemaking regarding the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — an important legal liability shield that ensures online platforms generally can’t be held liable for the content their users post on their platforms.

Kate Ruane, senior legislative counsel at the ACLU, had the following response:

“The FCC cannot rewrite acts of Congress to suit its whims. Section 230 is critical to protecting free speech online and the FCC has no authority to change it, especially not in ways that will undermine free expression. Also, the FCC can’t and shouldn’t dictate content moderation practices. The First Amendment protects us from government control over what we can tweet, post, and say online — this includes respecting the editorial decisions of the platforms themselves.”