New Bill Would Revoke Section 230 Liability Protection for “Health Misinformation” Promoted During Public Health Emergencies

Lindsey Tonsager & Andrew Longhi of Covington & Burling write:

To add to the growing number of bills that would amend or revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, last month Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Health Misinformation Act of 2021 (S.2448). Senator Ben Lujan (D-NM) cosponsored the bill.

The bill would amend Section 230 to revoke the Act’s liability shield for internet platforms that use algorithms to promote health-related misinformation during “public health emergencies.” Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would issue guidance regarding what constitutes health misinformation. The bill would not revoke the Section 230 liability shield when the promotion of such information occurred through a “neutral” process, such as the appearance of information chronologically in a user’s social media feed.