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Senator Richard Blumenthal, in noting the sale of fake COVID
vaccine cards online, said he was willing to discuss amending
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives
platforms immunity for what users put on their site.
"The mere selling of those cards is a violation of law and only
their immunity protects them," Blumenthal said while discussing
online platforms in a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to
discuss oversight of the Federal Trade Commission.
The FBI said in late March that the unauthorized use of a
government seal, like that of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, is a crime.
Blumenthal noted that Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who is als on
the committee, has also called for Section 230 to be reformed.
"There should be another takeaway from this hearing, which is
that if Ted Cruz and Richard Blumenthal can agree on excessive
power and abuse of power (by tech giants), there will be some
action, and that includes Section 230," Blumenthal said.
In March, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg called for a
Section 230 reform that would give publishers immunity only if
they follow best practices for removing damaging material from
their platforms.
Lawmakers - both Republican and Democrat - also discussed
passing legislation that would undo a potential loss at the
Supreme Court, which could rule that the FTC overstepped its
authority when seeking ill-gotten gains from those accused of
deceptive practices. The FTC, which cannot bring criminal
charges, has said a ruling against it would curtail its ability
to undo damage done by scam artists.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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