A uniquely bold and comprehensive proposal, The Big Tech Accountability Act seeks to hold social media companies accountable for amplifying dangerous disinformation and threats of violence.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2021) – The public interest organization Free Speech For People announced today the introduction of the Big Tech Accountability Act, a uniquely bold and comprehensive proposal to hold social media companies accountable for amplifying disinformation and violence through their online platforms.

The Big Tech Accountability Act takes direct aim at the spread of false information and threats of violence online which preceded the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and which has also served as an key instigating factor in other instances of violence worldwide.

“By protecting the biggest social media companies from accountability, current federal law allows them to amplify the biggest sellers – white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other fanatics – while drowning out the voices of ordinary people,” said Ben Clements, Board Chair and Senior Legal Advisor of Free Speech For People. “The Big Tech Accountability Act would end that immunity for social media giants and ensure that they will be held accountable when they amplify disinformation and threats of violence via their online platforms.”

Free Speech For People states that social media companies have taken advantage of the lack of federal regulation of their platforms to create and sell databases of personal information of all Americans and to promote unprecedented amplification of dangerous disinformation and violence. This has created a grave threat to our democracy and our people, against which elected officials have failed to take any meaningful action.

The Big Tech Accountability Act will foster accountability by online platforms and other internet service providers; protect internet users, voters, and the broader community from the dangers of rampant amplification of disinformation and violence; and protect online personal privacy and autonomy against commercial exploitation.

Learn more about the Big Tech Accountability Act here

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Read the full Big Tech Accountability Act here.