BREAKING: Mitch McConnell files bill to repeal Section 230 entirely, tries to tie it to $2,000 stimulus checks

Mitch McConnell has just filed a bill that attempts to tie $2,000 stimulus checks to a FULL REPEAL of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Digital rights group Fight for the Future, who are leading a major grassroots campaign to defend Section 230 and human rights online, issued the following statement, which can be attributed to their very pissed off Deputy Director Evan Greer (she/her) who really hoped to be on vacation this week:

“This is absurd. And dangerous. A full repeal of Section 230 would throw the Internet into chaos. It would open the floodgates for massive Internet censorship and online abuse. Even Mitch McConnell knows that. This seems to be a cynical play to use Section 230 as a ‘poison pill’ to make sure we don’t get $2,000 stimulus checks that people desperately need in order to feed their children and avoid eviction in the middle of a pandemic. Ironically, if Section 230 were to be repealed entirely, Donald Trump and many of his supporters would be among the first to be banned from social media, which would cease to exist in its current form. Repealing 230 would also forever solidify the monopoly power of the largest tech companies like Facebook and Google, who will be the only ones with enough money and lawyers to navigate a world where they become liable for users’ posts. Congress should stop playing with people’s lives, pass a clean COVID relief bill, and then get to work taking real action to rein in Big Tech abuses, like passing strong Federal data privacy legislation, enforcing existing antitrust laws, and restoring net neutrality protections at the FCC. Rank and file Democrats and Republicans should speak out clearly against this ridiculous attack on Section 230 and demand a vote on a clean COVID stimulus bill immediately.”

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