House Leaders Call for the Removal of Section 230 from USMCA

On August 6, the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, expressing concerns about the inclusion of broad immunities for online platforms in the newly negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA). Article 19.17 of the USMCA enshrines Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for the first time in an international agreement. Section 230 has recently come under intense scrutiny in the United States as Congress is actively considering various issues, ranging from illegal opioid sales to hate speech, that may require changes to the online liability provisions. In their letter, Reps. Pallone and Walden note that including the provision in a trade agreement at this time is “inappropriate.” Read the letter here.

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