Confused on content moderation? So is Congress.
Plus, Section 230 updates, a wacky new Florida bill, a mixed bag of FTC reforms, and the rarely-seen good piece of social media legislation.
With this week’s online discourse revolving heavily (and often mind-numbingly) around the Summer Olympics, I couldn’t help but wonder: Exactly how different are today’s Olympic Games from the ones held in Ancient Greece over two thousand years ago? Since the revival of the Olympics in Athens in 1896, we’ve certainly added a thing or two. After all, it’s hard to imagine Orsippos and Democritus competing in shooting, trampoline, or BMX freestyle!
Nevertheless, nearly all of the original Olympic sports — running, jumping, discus-throwing, wrestling, boxing, and equestrian racing — remain in the games today in some form or another. One notable exception is “pankration,” an ancient martial arts style that supposedly originated with “Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.” Pankration was a ferocious sport that would likely horrify today’s Olympic viewers. Athletes were allowed to brutalize each other however they wished, except by biting or gouging, until one competitor gave in. Sounds entertaining, sure, but modern Olympic fans might feel a bit of whiplash moving from the beach volleyball broadcast to a no-holds-barred brawl.
If you want to watch people fight at the Olympics nowadays, you’ll have to lower your standards a notch and settle for the wrestling or boxing events. Or, better yet, just start reading Twitter “debates” about this year’s Olympic controversies. Arguably more violent, and nobody wins!
Digital Rights. Florida spent much of its last legislative session passing bills that violate the First Amendment, and the next session isn’t looking to be much better. Ari told Reason that a bill banning citizens from getting within 30 feet of a police officer performing his duties appears to be aimed at civilian recording of police and is constitutionally suspect.
Content Moderation. On Wednesday, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a whopping 32 discussion draft bills as part of their “Big Tech Accountability Platform.” In a statement, Ari noted that the GOP platform takes a confused and inconsistent stance on content moderation, and fails to account for the First Amendment. In a short Twitter thread, he took a closer look at one of the bills, spearheaded by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jim Jordan.
But all was not lost in the halls of the Capitol this week. In an unusual twist, Senator Bill Hagerty introduced a social media bill worthy of consideration. Sen. Hagerty’s bill would require the government to disclose the conversations it has with social media and other web providers regarding content moderation. Ari explained why Sen. Hagerty’s bill, unlike so many other social media bills, actually serves an important First Amendment purpose.
Section 230. Ari joined the Tech Policy Podcast this week to catch everyone up on all the silly, crazy goings-on in the bad-trip, mad-tea-party vortex that has formed around Section 230. Sadly, the attempts to break Section 230 can always get dumber—but discussing them can make for a really fun podcast episode. Check it out.
FTC. Berin and Andy live-tweeted the House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on “Transforming the FTC” on Wednesday. Berin reviewed each of the 16 bills before the Committee. Half the bills are reboots from 2016, when Berin and ICLE’s Geoff Manne analyzed proposals for FTC procedural reform. Commissioners and Committee members debated bills related to the FTC’s budget, authority, and regulatory priorities — with a few unwarranted-but-expected jabs at tech platforms and Section 230. The Committee grilled Chair Khan on topics like the newly-instated FTC “open” meetings, the agency’s fraud program, and agency processes such as single-commissioner authorized investigations and the rumored gag order placed on FTC staff.