Bipartisan lawmakers push to reform Section 230 social media shield

It was the mid-1990s. And the world was online.

No more hours of doom scrolling on Instagram and X.

But people were walking through GeoCities. Before the days of Google and AI, there were Hotbot searches. There was even Ask Jeeves long before Grok.

Congress was on the verge of passing a landmark telecommunications bill that would define the digital landscape for decades to come.

In signing the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law, former President Clinton explained how the measure would create “a super highway that would serve both the private sector and the public interest.”

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Yes. At the time, some still referred to the Internet as the “Information Highway.”

The 1990s were dizzying. Full of optimism and possibility. The. The USA won the Cold War. The economy boomed and became “new.” The Internet has connected the world.

However, there was a serious debate about freedom of expression. Who should regulate what’s online? Should the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) be handling what is OK to broadcast, the same way it oversees TV and radio broadcasting?

In the early ’90s, the National Security Agency (NSA) used a cryptographic backdoor called a “snipping chip” to intercept phone calls. This raised questions about government oversight. Does this also carry over to what the government “monitors” when people post content online?

In this photo taken in Poland on January 30, 2024, a smartphone screen shows the US National Security Agency logo and stock market percentages in the background. (Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Congress ultimately decided to give the Internet wide leeway in the name of freedom of expression. Telecommunications companies persuaded lawmakers to give them legal shelter. “Carriers” were not responsible for “customers” posting questionable or offensive material.

“We said the FCC would not regulate the content or character of the Internet,” then-Rep. Chris Cox (R-Calif.) said at a 1995 hearing. “We cannot allow the government to develop standards to regulate this industry in the name of uniformity.”

Cox was a key player behind shaping the policy in the 1996 telecommunications act. So was the Representative at the time. and now Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

“The Internet is the shining star of the information age,” Wyden said in 1996.

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But the Oregon Democrat was concerned about some of the dirt that had already spread online in early versions.

“My wife and I have seen our children go into these chat rooms that embarrass their middle-aged parents,” Wyden said.

But like Cox, Wyden feared that “censorship might actually undo many of its promises.”

That’s why they fought to keep some government regulations out of telecommunications law. And they instilled in internet providers a clause called “Article 230” of this law. Section 230 exempted telecom companies from lawsuits and criminal charges based on what customers shared on their forums.

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) explained the rationale behind Section 230 and the role of service providers:

“If you put up a billboard in a hall as a public service and someone puts something on the billboard that says ‘Congressman Obernolte beats his wife,’ the owner of the billboard is not responsible for the content of that message,” the California Republican said.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., attended a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on the September 11 Memorial and Museum Act and other legislation on Dec. 7, 2021, at the Longworth Building. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

But many people and organizations post all kinds of things on today’s worldwide “billboard.” That’s why some lawmakers want to fundamentally change social media as we know it by rolling back Section 230.

“Section 230 is absolute liability protection and immunity for the largest social media companies in the world. It’s driving people to suicide. It’s destroying our society,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the fiercest advocates of changing the law. “If you buy a bad car, you can sue. Every product you buy has to be stood behind. This is the only area of ​​law I know of where the biggest companies in the world have absolute legal immunity.”

Graham went so far as to suggest that what is available on the internet and the way people use social media is “as dangerous as drinking”.

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“This is putting profits before people,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) shouted. “(Social media) should not have this absolute shield when they are destroying the lives of young people by pushing toxic content on them through their algorithms.”

Although Congress is partly responsible for creating this problem three decades ago, bipartisan lawmakers are simmering over how social media companies allow users to post without legal consequences.

“As long as these companies believe they are immune from liability, they will tell us all to go to hell,” Graham said.

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Some lawmakers want to strip Big Tech of legal immunity over incidents that have occurred on their platforms.

“What we need to do is start by allowing victims of child pornography and other child exploitation materials and sexual exploitation materials to sue these companies,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Lawmakers believed that increased opportunities for voice and speech would enable the internet to thrive. They argued that the free market would create a rich environment online. So they set aside their instincts to over-regulate.

“The government is going to get out of the way and allow parents and individuals control instead of the government doing this for us,” Cox said in 1995.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.S.C., speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol during votes on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

But high hopes for a fertile “marketplace of ideas” online are dashed by the addictive nature of today’s “phones” and some of the digital advances.

“When you talk to people, they are deathly afraid of social media. They are deathly afraid of artificial intelligence,” he said.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

That’s why lawmakers are demanding changes to Section 230.

Safeguarding freedom of expression is vital, says an MP people Deciding what users see online. But not technology behind. Today, technology makes most of the decisions about what we see and hear on our phones.

“If you have an algorithm that spreads all this information…” sighed Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). “The First Amendment does not protect an algorithm.”

In 1996, Ron Wyden told C-SPAN during an interview that “censorship can really undo a lot of the promises (of the internet).”

And in 2026, Wyden is still wary of infringing on free speech through regulation. He says the hands-off approach has helped the development of Wikipedia and social media platform Bluesky. A more aggressive stance may hinder development.

“You’re going to have to overthrow me to get rid of (Section) 230,” Wyden said this year.

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In 2026, people have difficulty taking advantage of technology. They are trying to get rid of their phone addiction. Finding ways to keep kids off their phones to improve reading and vocabulary skills.

The digital optimism of the mid-1990s is now gone. And those present nostalgically experience the sound of an old, static modem and that pleasant announcement that “you have mail.”