,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aiad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #ai1 #bjai ,mr4 ,hawley introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,communications ,decency ,act to encourage providers of interactive computer services to provide content moderation that is politically neutral4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ending ,support for ,internet ,censorship ,act4 #b4 ,political neutrality in content moderation 7a7 ,in general ,section #bcj of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c71 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 ,requirement of politically unbiased content moderation by covered companies 7,a7 ,in general ,paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 shall not apply in the case of a covered company unless the company has in effect an immunity certification from the ,federal ,trade ,commission 7referred to in this paragraph as the ,commission7 under subparagraph 7,b7 that the company does not moderate information provided by other information content providers in a manner that is biased against a political party1 political candidate1 or political viewpoint4 7,b7 ,federal ,trade ,commission immunity certification 7i7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall certify any provider of an interactive computer service that-- 7,i7 is a covered company or anticipates that it will become a covered company within the next #b years2 7,,ii7 applies to the ,commission for a certification under this subparagraph2 and 7,,iii7 proves to the ,commission by clear and convincing evidence that the provider does not 7and1 during the #b-year period preceding the date on which the provider submits the application for certification1 did not7 moderate information provided by other information content providers in a politically biased manner4 7ii7 ,politically biased moderation ,the moderation practices of a provider of an interactive computer service are politically biased if-- 7,i7 the provider moderates information provided by other information content providers in a manner that-- 7aa7 is designed to negatively affect a political party1 political candidate1 or political viewpoint2 or 7bb7 disproportionately restricts or promotes access to1 or the availability of1 information from a political party1 political candidate1 or political viewpoint2 or 7,,ii7 an officer or employee of the provider makes a decision about moderating information provided by other information content providers that is motivated by an intent to negatively affect a political party1 political candidate1 or political viewpoint4 7iii7 ,exceptions 7,i7 ,business necessity ,an action of a provider of an interactive computer service that disproportionately restricts access to1 or the availability of1 information from a political party1 political candidate1 or political viewpoint shall not be considered to be a politically biased moderation practice if the action is necessary for business or the information involved is not speech that would be protected under the ,first ,amendment of the ,united ,states ,constitution1 there is no available alternative that has a less disproportionate effect1 and the provider does not act with the intent to discriminate based on political affiliation1 political party1 or political viewpoint4 7,,ii7 ,actions by employees ,a provider of an interactive computer service shall not be denied a certification under this subparagraph on the basis of an employee of the provider acting in the manner described in clause 7ii77,,ii7 in making a decision about moderating information provided by other information content providers if the provider1 immediately upon learning of the actions of the employee-- 7aa7 publicly discloses in a conspicuous manner that an employee of the provider acted in a politically biased manner with respect to moderating information content2 and 7bb7 terminates or otherwise disciplines the employee4 7iv7 ,certification process 7,i7 ,approval ,the ,commission shall not certify a provider of an interactive computer service under this subparagraph unless at least one more than a majority of the ,commissioners approve such certification4 7,,ii7 ,timeline ,the ,commission shall ensure that timely applications for certification under this subparagraph are processed within #f months4 7,,iii7 ,publication of dissenting opinions ,the ,commission shall make publicly available the dissenting opinion of any ,commissioner who disagrees with a decision of the ,commission to certify1 or deny certification to1 a provider of an interactive computer service4 7,,iv7 ,public input ,the ,commission shall establish a process to allow information content providers to-- 7aa7 submit complaints or evidence that they have been subject to politically biased content moderation by a provider of an interactive computer service2 and 7bb7 attend or participate in any hearings that the ,commission holds with respect to an application for certification from a provider4 7,v7 ,renewals ,an application to renew a certification shall be treated in the same manner as an application for a new certification4 7,c7 ,duration of certification 7i7 ,in general ,subject to clause 7ii71 a certification obtained under subparagraph 7,b7 shall remain in effect with respect to a provider of an interactive computer service for a period of #b years1 and may subsequently be renewed for additional #b-year periods4 7ii7 ,extension for processing a subsequent application ,if a provider of an interactive computer service submits an application to renew a certification under subparagraph 7,b7 while such certification is still in effect1 such certification shall remain in effect while the ,commission processes such application1 but in no case shall a certification remain in effect for more than #cj months without being renewed4 7,d7 ,costs 7i7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall charge a fee in connection with an application from a provider of an interactive computer service for a certification 7or a renewal of a certification7 under subparagraph 7,b74 7ii7 ,limitation ,the amount of any fee imposed under clause 7i7 with respect to an application shall not exceed the costs to the ,commission in processing such application4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7f71 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs3 7#e7 ,covered company ,the term covered company means a provider of an interactive computer service 7other than an organization described in section #eja7;c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf which is exempt from taxation under section #eja7;a7 of such ,code7 that1 at any time during the most recent #ab-month period-- 7,a7 had more than #cj1jjj1jjj active monthly users in the ,united ,states2 7,b7 had more than #cjj1jjj1jjj active monthly users worldwide2 or 7,c7 had more than #ejj1jjj1jjj in global annual revenue4 7#f7 ,moderate 7,a7 ,in general ,the term moderate means-- 7i7 to influence if1 when1 where1 or how information or other content provided by a third-party user appears on a covered company's interactive computer service2 or 7ii7 to alter the information or other content provided by a third-party user that appears on a covered company's interactive computer service4 7,b7 ,algorithms ,such term shall include actions taken through an algorithm or other automated process4 7#g7 ,business necessity ,the term necessary for business refers to a lawful act that advances the growth1 development1 or profitability of a company but does not include any action designed to appeal to1 or gain favor from1 persons or groups because of their political beliefs1 political party membership1 or support for political candidates4 4 7b7 ,technical amendment ,section #bcj7;c77#b77;,b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7;c77#b77;,b77 is amended by striking paragraph 7#a7 and inserting subparagraph 7,a74 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall take effect on the date that is #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,authorities and duties of the ,federal ,trade ,commission 7a7 ,in general ,the ,federal ,trade ,commission 7referred to in this section as the ,commission7 is authorized to do the following3 7#a7 ,staffing ,to hire sufficient staff 7whether on a part-time1 full-time1 or contract basis7 to process applications under paragraph 7#c7 of section #bcj7;c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7;c771 as added by section #b7;a74 7#b7 ,applications processes ,to establish processes to certify covered companies under paragraph 7#c7 of such section #bcj7;c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7including setting rates for application fees and setting application deadlines74 7b7 ,rulemaking authority ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall promulgate regulations1 in accordance with section #eec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 to carry out this section and the amendments made by section #b7;a74 7c7 ,reports ,not later than #e years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and every #e years thereafter1 the ,commission shall submit a report to ,congress on whether the ability of interactive computer services 7as such term is defined in section #bcj7;f7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7;f777 to moderate content provided by other information content providers is such that the protection provided by section #bcj7;c7 of such ,act is no longer necessary or should be modified4