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tech firms: US Senator Amy Klobuchar says tech firms should be liable for ‘amplifying’ hate

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a leading Democratic voice on tech regulation, said she doesn’t trust Elon Musk to run Twitter and called for legislation stripping tech companies of legal immunity when they “amplify” hate speech or election falsehoods.

In the wake of an assault on Paul Pelosi, the House speaker’s husband, Klobuchar said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that technology companies are “making money off of this violence.”

Klobuchar, who leads the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee and has authored antitrust legislation targeting big technology companies, said Congress should modify immunity from liability that it granted web platforms in 1996 for content others post on the sites.

“I would reduce their immunity,” Klobuchar said, in a way “that would allow people to go after them when they are making money off of amplifying election falsehoods and hate speech.”

Klobuchar added that lawmakers from both parties have shown interest in such a change in the immunity provision in Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

Asked if she trusts Musk to run Twitter, which he acquired last week, Klobuchar responded “No, I do not.”

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Musk has argued that Twitter should be less aggressive about banning people from the platform over their posts, particularly political leaders such as former President Donald Trump.

He has delayed restoring access to the platform for people who have been banned from hate speech, bullying or spreading election misinformation while the company sets up a content moderation board.

Klobuchar said Musk’s backing for such a board is “one good sign” but added, “I continue to be concerned.”

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