North Dakota Bill Would Let Censored Citizens Sue Facebook, Twitter

A proposed bill from Republican state lawmakers in North Dakota could see Facebook and Twitter face lawsuits from users who have been censored on their platforms. Some experts argue the law would have no effect due to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), the law that enables the Big Tech Masters of the Universe to enjoy legal immunity in cases related to censorship.

Ars Technica reports that a new bill submitted by six legislators last week titled “an Act to permit civil actions against social media sites for censoring speech,” states that websites with over 1 million users would be “liable in a civil action for damages to the person whose speech is restricted, censored, or suppressed, and to any person who reasonably otherwise would have received the writing, speech, or publication.”

Compensation for censored users would include “treble damages for compensatory, consequential, and incidental damages.” Experts believe the bill would likely have no effect even if it was passed due to a conflict with federal law. Attorney Akiva Cohen wrote in a Twitter thread that the proposed law “would immediately be deemed void as preempt... (Read more)

Tweets mentioned:

Let's talk about this North Dakota attempt to legislate around Section 230 and create a civil right of action for users censored by social media sites. CC @mmasnick https://t.co/duKzUx1K40

— Akiva Cohen (@AkivaMCohen) January 11, 2021

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