Senator Schmitt Introduces Legislation Aimed at Stopping the Federal Government’s Collusion with Big Tech to Censor Speech

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced the Curtailing Online Limitations that Lead Unconstitutionally to Democracy’s Erosion (COLLUDE) Act, in order to halt the collusion between Big Tech and the federal government which has led to censoring Americans’ speech. The COLLUDE Act prevents Big Tech companies from colluding with government to censor free speech, by stripping them of their Section 230 protection if they commit such actions. Specifically, the bill:

• Modifies Section 230(c) to eliminate Section 230 immunities for Big Tech companies if the company censors speech due to a request or demand from a governmental entity OR a non-governmental entity that is acting at the request of a governmental entity.
• The request or demand must be sent to the Big Tech company only to trigger this provision. The provision would not impact if there are changes made due to publicly available data.
• The provision covers communications from both governmental and non-governmental entities working on behalf of the government to ensure censorship will not be routed by the federal government to big tech companies through non-profits.
• Provides an exception to this provision for a legitimate law enforcement or national security purpose.