Performative Media Policy: Section 230’s Evolution From Regulatory Statute to Loyalty Oath

Abstract

This study analyzes 84 pieces of legislation between 1996 and January 20, 2021 proposing to modify “Section 230,” the clause in the Communications Act that protects internet platforms from third-party liability for its users’ actions. Patterns in that legislation align with media coverage of Section 230. The study shows that in recent years, such legislation has shifted from bipartisan, policy-focused law to Republican partisan bills intended as a gesture of support for President Trump, who had attacked the clause believing that it permitted platforms to moderate against his interests. Thus, legislation was often designed not only as a “messaging bill,” but as a message to a particular person, whom legislators believed held the keys to their own electoral futures.

Keywords: internet governance, telecom policy, Section 230, messaging bills, news framing