,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bddh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bb1     
#bjba,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,lujn7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to amend the ,communications ,act of 
#aicd to provide that1 under certain    
circumstances1 an interactive computer  
service provider that allows for the    
proliferation of health misinformation  
through that service shall be treated as
 the publisher or speaker of that       
misinformation1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,health ,misinformation ,act of 
#bjba4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds   
the following3 7#a7 ,access to accurate 
and reliable information is crucial for 
public health and safety during a       
national emergency or crisis1 such as   
the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4  7#b7 ,on     
,january #bg1 #bjbj1 the ,secretary of  

,health and ,human ,services determined 
that a public health emergency existed  
under section #cai of the ,public       
,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#bdg;d71 as a result of confirmed cases 
of ,,covid-#ai in the ,united ,states4  
7#c7 ,as of the date of enactment of    
this ,act1 in the ,united ,states1 there
 have been more than #cd1jjj1jjj cases  
of ,,covid-#ai and more than #fjj1jjj   
deaths resulting from ,,covid-#ai4  7#d7
 ,since the declaration of the public   
health emergency described in paragraph 
7#b71 misinformation and disinformation 
relating to ,,covid-#ai have spread at  
an alarming rate1 which has-- 7,a7      
hindered the public response efforts of 
,federal1 ,state1 local1 and indigenous 
leaders2 and  7,b7 endangered lives4    
7#e7 ,the ,,covid-#ai pandemic is the   
first pandemic in human history during  
which-- 7,a7 the internet is being used 
to keep individuals informed and        
connected2 and  7,b7 misinformation and 
disinformation about the disease1 and   

about treatments and preventative       
measures with respect to the disease1   
including vaccines1 have proliferated on
 the internet and through the use of    
social media4  7#f7 ,features that are  
built into technology platforms have    
contributed to the spread of            
misinformation and disinformation1 with 
social media platforms incentivizing    
individuals to share content to get     
likes1 comments1 and other positive     
signals of engagement1 which rewards    
engagement rather than accuracy4  7#g7  
,social media companies use algorithms  
that determine what material users see  
online1 and those algorithms often      
prioritize content based on the         
popularity of the content1 or similarity
 to previously seen content1 which means
 that a user exposed to information once
 could see more of that kind of         
information over time1 furthering the   
effects of misinformation and           
disinformation4  7#h7 ,one study has    
found that as much as #fe percent of    

misinformation and disinformation on the
 internet and social media relating to  
the ,,covid-#ai vaccines can be traced  
back to #ab individuals and another     
study has found that even brief exposure
 to misinformation relating to the      
,,covid-#ai vaccines makes individuals  
less likely to want to receive one of   
those vaccines4  7#i7 ,the ,,covid-#ai  
pandemic remains an ongoing threat and  
there is a need to ensure that social   
media platforms do their part in        
promoting accurate scientific           
information to users of those platforms4
  #c4 ,treatment of publisher or speaker
  7a7 ,in general ,section #bcj of the  
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bcj71 is amended-- 7#a7 in   
subsection 7c77#a7-- 7,a7 by striking   
,no provider and inserting the          
following3  7,a7 ,in general ,except as 
provided in subparagraph 7,b71 no       
provider  2 and  7,b7 by adding at the  
end the following3  7,b7 ,exception ,a  
provider of an interactive computer     

service shall be treated as the         
publisher or speaker of health          
misinformation that is created or       
developed through the interactive       
computer service during a covered period
 if the provider promotes that health   
misinformation through an algorithm used
 by the provider 7or similar software   
functionality71 except that this        
subparagraph shall not apply if that    
promotion occurs through a neutral      
mechanism1 such as through the use of   
chronological functionality4  2 and     
7#b7 in subsection 7f71 by adding at the
 end the following3  7#e7 ,covered      
period ,the term covered period means a 
period during which a public health     
emergency declared by the ,secretary of 
,health and ,human ,services under      
section #cai of the ,public ,health     
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d71   
including a renewal of any such         
declaration1 is in effect4  4  7b7      
,guidance ,not later than #cj days after
 the date of enactment of this ,act1 the

 ,secretary of ,health and ,human       
,services1 in consultation with the     
heads of other relevant ,federal        
agencies and outside experts determined 
appropriate by the ,secretary1 shall    
issue guidance regarding what           
constitutes health misinformation for   
the purposes of subparagraph 7,b7 of    
section #bcj7;c77#a7 of the             
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7;c77#a771 as added by    
subsection 7a7 of this section4