Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz and Republican Sen. John Thune on Wednesday rolled out a bipartisan bill that would increase “accountability” for Big Tech companies and enhance transparency regarding content moderation for users, in an effort to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The bill, titled the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act and also known as the “PACT Act,” would preserve the benefits of Section 230 — a rule that shields social media companies from being held liable for content on their platforms while allowing them to moderate that content — while making “significant reforms” to protect Americans using the platforms.
Sens. Brian Schatz and Cory Booker are urging FCC Chairman Ajit Pai not to go forward with his plan to repeal his agency’s net neutrality rules. The two Democrats wrote in a letter to Pai that taking away net neutrality would lead to an uproar like the one that followed the GOP-led dismantling of internet privacy rules last month.
