On Tuesday, the President of USA Donald Trump απείλησε να ασκήσει βέτο στον ετήσιο αμυντικό προϋπολογισμό για να μην εγκριθούν δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια σε στρατιωτικές δαπάνες, εκτός κι αν το Κογκρέσο συμφωνήσει να αφαιρέσει ένα νόμο του Διαδικτύου που παρέχει στο Facebook, την Google και το Twitter νομική ασυλία έναντι του περιεχομένου που δημοσιεύουν οι users their.
The result is of course a stalemate as vital congressional bills cannot move forward as it prioritizes section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Article 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, states that an "internet service" cannot be considered as a publisher or representative of third party content. The article in a nutshell protects websites from lawsuits if a user posts illegal, pirated or pornographic material.
With Article 230, website owners can moderate their pages without worrying about any upcoming legal liability. The law is particularly critical for social networks, but it also covers many websites and services, such as news sites that allow comments. Το Electronic Frontier Foundation she calls him "The most important law that protects communication on the Internet".
However, it is increasingly controversial and often misinterpreted. Critics say its widespread protection allows powerful companies to ignore the real harm to users. On the other hand, some lawmakers erroneously claim that it only protects "neutral platforms" - a term that is not related to the law.
A fundamental legal protection for online chat platforms, Article 230 has become controversial in recent years and there is a desire from across the ideological spectrum to reform the law.
During the primary campaign, President-elect Joe Biden said that Article 230 "should be repealed immediately." Republicans again do not want the law because they believe they are granting broad platform censorship permission.
Trump brought the issue to the fore again and considers it very urgent. If you remember, use Twitter to spread baseless accusations about election scam. The platform responded by flagging the tweets as misinformation by limiting their reach.
So right now, the outgoing president has vetoed defense funding, a piece of legislation that is considered a "must-pass" by members of Congress.