Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Proposes Section 230 Repeal, Spectrum Innovation Act, E-Rate Bidding

April 29, 2022 – On Thursday Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced a bill in the House to abolish Section 230 and the liability protections it provides to online platforms.

In January, Greene’s personal Twitter account was permanently suspended following repeated violations of the platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policy, leaving her with access only to her official congressional account.

The bill proposes replacing Section 230 with a requirement for “reasonable, non-discriminatory access to online communications platforms” through a “common carrier” framework

Titled the 21st Century FREE Speech Act, H.R.7613, it will serve as the House version of a Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.

Online communications platforms would be prevented from exerting “undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class of persons, political or religious group or affiliation, or locality” and consumers would be provided a mechanism to sue for violations, all to combat alleged bias of social media platforms against conservative voices.

Greene stated that should Twitter’s new billionaire owner Elon Musk attempt to combat censorship on the platform as he has stated, her bill should assist him.

Bipartisan, bicameral Spectrum Innovation Act

On Thursday the offices of Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, as well as those of Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and John Thune, R-S.D., announced their introduction of the Spectrum Innovation Act of 2022.

The legislation would “free up new airwaves for wireless broadband use by the public” such as auctioned 200 MHz spectrum and would “allow more opportunities for research, safety, and for the public to access faster internet speeds and more responsive networks.”

Introduction of the bill received praise from officials at Competitive Carriers Association, New America’s Open Technology Institute, CTIA and NCTA, The Internet and Television Association.

SHLB opposes FCC’s new competitive bidding proposal

On Thursday the School, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition encouraged the Federal Communications Commission not to move forward with its proposed changes to the E-rate program’s competitive bidding process which aim to promote fair and openly competitive bidding.

SHLB says the commission’s proposals would “unnecessarily burden applicants, conflict with local and state laws, and ultimately hinder competition.”

SHLB executive director John Windhausen said that while his organization “generally supports streamlining the E-rate program,” the FCC’s proposal to do so would not prevent possible fraud in the E-rate bidding process among other potential problems.

SHLB has been vigilant on changes to E-rate bidding, pointing out similar problems with proposed changes in December.