Watchdog Slams Misguided Priorities on Capitol Hill

For Immediate Release         Contact: Courtney Mattison (202-535-7492)

December 1, 2021 

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is disappointed that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is dedicating valuable time to yet another hearing on Section 230, instead of addressing the pressing issues facing the nation.

In response, TPA Vice President of Policy Patrick Hedger offered the following statement:

“We’re in the middle of a legitimate energy and commerce crisis due to ongoing supply chain issues, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee is spending its time and resources exploring ways to limit Americans’ free speech online. Congress has not yet grappled with the fact that previous changes to Section 230, made by the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA), totally backfired and brought down a countless amount of legal online speech while making it harder to fight online sex trafficking. The reforms to Section 230 the Committee will consider today would have the same speech-chilling impact. 

“The fact is that much of the contempt we see in Congress for Section 230 and tech companies comes from a fundamentally unconstitutional place. Many Democrats want to see tech companies take more legal speech down, while many Republicans want to force companies to host speech against their will. Both positions run counter to the First Amendment, meaning today’s hearing would be a tremendous waste of time even if we weren’t in the grips of an economic crisis the Committee could actually do something about.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.