[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2448 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2448
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, under certain
circumstances, an interactive computer service provider that allows for
the proliferation of health misinformation through that service shall
be treated as the publisher or speaker of that misinformation, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 22, 2021
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, under certain
circumstances, an interactive computer service provider that allows for
the proliferation of health misinformation through that service shall
be treated as the publisher or speaker of that misinformation, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health Misinformation Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Access to accurate and reliable information is crucial
for public health and safety during a national emergency or
crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2) On January 27, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services determined that a public health emergency existed
under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
247d), as a result of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United
States.
(3) As of the date of enactment of this Act, in the United
States, there have been more than 34,000,000 cases of COVID-19
and more than 600,000 deaths resulting from COVID-19.
(4) Since the declaration of the public health emergency
described in paragraph (2), misinformation and disinformation
relating to COVID-19 have spread at an alarming rate, which
has--
(A) hindered the public response efforts of
Federal, State, local, and indigenous leaders; and
(B) endangered lives.
(5) The COVID-19 pandemic is the first pandemic in human
history during which--
(A) the internet is being used to keep individuals
informed and connected; and
(B) misinformation and disinformation about the
disease, and about treatments and preventative measures
with respect to the disease, including vaccines, have
proliferated on the internet and through the use of
social media.
(6) Features that are built into technology platforms have
contributed to the spread of misinformation and disinformation,
with social media platforms incentivizing individuals to share
content to get likes, comments, and other positive signals of
engagement, which rewards engagement rather than accuracy.
(7) Social media companies use algorithms that determine
what material users see online, and those algorithms often
prioritize content based on the popularity of the content, or
similarity to previously seen content, which means that a user
exposed to information once could see more of that kind of
information over time, furthering the effects of misinformation
and disinformation.
(8) One study has found that as much as 65 percent of
misinformation and disinformation on the internet and social
media relating to the COVID-19 vaccines can be traced back to
12 individuals and another study has found that even brief
exposure to misinformation relating to the COVID-19 vaccines
makes individuals less likely to want to receive one of those
vaccines.
(9) The COVID-19 pandemic remains an ongoing threat and
there is a need to ensure that social media platforms do their
part in promoting accurate scientific information to users of
those platforms.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF PUBLISHER OR SPEAKER.
(a) In General.--Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 230), is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1)--
(A) by striking ``No provider'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), no provider''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Exception.--A provider of an interactive
computer service shall be treated as the publisher or
speaker of health misinformation that is created or
developed through the interactive computer service
during a covered period if the provider promotes that
health misinformation through an algorithm used by the
provider (or similar software functionality), except
that this subparagraph shall not apply if that
promotion occurs through a neutral mechanism, such as
through the use of chronological functionality.''; and
(2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Covered period.--The term `covered period' means a
period during which a public health emergency declared by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), including a renewal
of any such declaration, is in effect.''.
(b) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies and
outside experts determined appropriate by the Secretary, shall issue
guidance regarding what constitutes health misinformation for the
purposes of subparagraph (B) of section 230(c)(1) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)), as added by subsection (a) of this
section.
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