United States of America: 21st Century FREE Speech Act introduced in House (HR 7163)

On 28 April 2022, the 21st Century FREE Speech Act (HR 7163) was introduced in the US House of Representatives as a companion bill to Senate Bill 1384, which was introduced in 2021. The Bill would require platform providers to make their moderation standards publically accessible, and would further prohibit them from discriminating against users in providing access to their services. A private right of action would be created for users to redress violations of these obligations. The Bill would further amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act providing immunity to platform providers in respect to third party content and 'Good Samaritan' protection for good faith content moderation by providing for exceptions from immunity and closely defining the circumstances under which 'Good Samaritan' protection applies.