For years, Facebook has been one of the primary defenders of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, arguing that its erosion would curtail free expression online and make it harder for the social media giant to police misinformation, hate speech, calls to violence and more.
But now, Mark Zuckerberg says he thinks it's time to change the law. "I believe Congress should update the law to make sure it's working as intended," Zuckerberg will say at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, according to prepared testimony obtained by Protocol on Tuesday. "We support the ideas around transparency and industry collaboration that are being discussed in some of the current bipartisan proposals, and I look forward to a meaningful dialogue about how we might update the law to deal with the problems we face today."
After a prolonged negotiation, Facebook previously endorsed FOSTA/SESTA, the sex-trafficking law that pared down Section 230's sweeping protections in 2018. But this is the first time Zuckerberg is calling for general Section 230 updates amid a heated political battle over the law this year.
His testimony follows a familiar Facebook playbook. As soon as it became clear that Congress was hurdling toward regulation, Zuckerberg in 2019 offered his thoughts on how Congress should go about writing new legislation.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE