Social media platforms liable for lies?
The White House is reviewing Section 230 protections for misinformation over COVID-19 and says “they should be held accountable.”
WASHINGTON – The White House is assessing whether social media platforms are legally liable for misinformation spread on their platforms, White House communication director Kate Bedingfield said Tuesday.
“We’re reviewing that, and certainly, they should be held accountable,” she confirmed during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Bedingfield specified the White House is examining how misinformation fits into the liability protections granted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from being responsible for what is posted by third parties on their sites.
Misconceptions and distrust of information about the coronavirus and vaccines have hindered the country’s pandemic response, a challenge the administration is determined to address.
Friday, President Joe Biden said Facebook is “killing people,” an assertion he softened Monday.
The White House resisted claims that it is trying to direct the moderation of content on Facebook.
But aides, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, said they are in “regular contact” with social media platforms about content posted on their sites.
“We are not at war with any social media platform, we are at war with the virus,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday during a briefing.
The White House has not asked Facebook to take down any individual social media posts, she said, but the administration monitors publicly available data on what is trending on the platform.
“It’s up to social media platforms to determine what their application is of their own rules and regulations,” she said.