FCC Commissioner Suggests Opening Google to Liability After it Whacked The Federalist

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Federal Communications Commission chief suggested Monday that Google’s decision to whack The Federalist over user comments could serve as a basis for making Google liable for similar content.

“Google makes one of the strongest arguments yet for Section 230 reform,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said on Twitter, referencing a law that shields tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter from liability for content created by their users. He was quoting an earlier tweet by Google that said its policies prohibit ads from being placed on sites that publish “dangerous or derogatory content, which includes comments.”

President Donald Trump in May signed an executive order tasking the FCC with reviewing Section 230 protections to determine whether they should no longer apply to tech companies. The law was originally passed as part of the 1996 Communications Decency Act and was intended to protect publishers. Republicans including Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) have argued tech companies should no longer qualify for that protection.

The Justice Department is also reportedly set to propose a rollback of Section 230 protections as early as Wednesday, though that proposal would require congressional approval.

The actions follow a Monday report that Google told The Federalist that some of its content, including portions of the site’s comment sections, violated Google’s policies. The Federalist was given three days to remove the offending content — and removed its comment section as a result.

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