Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced legislation that would hold Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies responsible for the proliferation of falsehoods about vaccines, fake cures and other harmful health-related claims on their sites. The bill would carve out an exception to Section 230, the 1996 law that protects internet platforms from liability for content that users post, for health misinformation proliferating during public health emergencies. 

Those in favor argue that COVID-19 misinformation is an urgent threat. Sen. Klobuchar said, “These are some of the biggest, richest companies in the world and they must do more to prevent the spread of deadly vaccine misinformation. The coronavirus pandemic has shown us how lethal misinformation can be and it is our responsibility to take action.” Supporters say Section 230 allows social media companies to duck responsibility for harmful content like misinformation and hate speech. They point out that according to a study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, social media platforms failed to act on 95 percent of coronavirus-related disinformation reported to them. 

Those against argue they are just looking for someone to blame and social media companies are an easy target. Facebook has said that the administration of “finger pointing” and that it has taken down more than 18 million pieces of COVID misinformation, showed authoritative information about COVID and vaccines to more than 2 billion people, and that its own surveys find “vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the U.S. has increased.” Opponents also say that whether the information is false or not, it is still protected by the First Amendment and is considered Free Speech. Many believe the government should not have the ability to put pressure on social media companies to censor what people post in their platforms. 

Should social media companies be held liable for misinformation that is posted on their platforms?