The 119th Congress is in session as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act turns 30 years old. In recent years, lawmakers have introduced various legislative proposals to outright repeal and replace, or just reform, Section 230 to clarify when and how online platforms can be held liable for hosting third-party content.
This Section 230 Scorecard Evaluation excludes bills that would simply sunset or repeal Section 230. These repeal bills aim to create urgency for lawmakers to pass online safety legislation and establish new pathways for accountability when platforms cause real-world harm, including the various kids online safety bills we evaluated here. In the 119th Congress, a Section 230 repeal bill was introduced by Senators Durbin and Graham. In the House, Section 230 repeal bills were introduced by Representative Hageman and, separately, Representative Patronis.
We have identified Section 230 reform bills that fall into distinct categories, including clarifying liability for deepfaked content, removing immunity for moderating lawful content, and removing liability for algorithmically recommended content.
To download the full description of each principle, see our Section 230 Principles to Protect Free Expression Online. You can also read our blog post, “Assessing Section 230 Reform Proposals in the 119th Congress.”
See our report card on Section 230 reform proposals in the 118th Congress here.
| Key: | |
 | Indicates the proposal incorporates this principle and will likely have a positive impact on it. |
 | Indicates the proposal does not address this principle, or the likely impact of the proposal on the principle is neutral or mixed. |
 | Indicates the proposal runs contrary to the principle, or will likely have a negative impact on the principle. |