Stopping Big Tech's Censorship Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Stopping Big Tech's Censorship Act
This bill modifies the requirements that providers and users of interactive computer services (e.g., social media companies) must meet in order to qualify for certain liability protections.
Specifically, in order to be exempt from being treated as the publisher or speaker of any information published by a third-party information content provider, a provider or user of an interactive computer service must take reasonable steps to prevent or address the unlawful use of such service or unlawful publication of information on the service.
Further, the bill removes the protection against civil liability for a provider or user of an interactive computer service that voluntarily takes action in good faith to restrict access to or availability of certain offensive material, unless such action meets specified First Amendment requirements.
Lastly, to be eligible for protection from liability for information published by a third-party information content provider, a provider or user of an interactive computer service must meet certain notice requirements.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 24, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 24, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) introduced it on June 24, 2020. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 24, 2020, 2317 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2317 days ago, on June 24, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers