The SAFE TECH Act changes how much legal protection social media companies and other online platforms get when people post harmful content on their sites. Right now, these companies have broad protection from lawsuits about third-party content—meaning they generally can't be sued for what their users post. This bill narrows that protection significantly.

Under this new law, platforms would lose their legal shield in several situations: if they're paid to host certain speech, if they create or fund the content themselves, or if the content involves civil rights violations, antitrust issues, stalking, harassment, intimidation, or wrongful death. The bill also allows courts to order platforms to remove dangerous content that could cause serious harm, and platforms must comply with those orders without facing liability.

The bill also changes how lawsuits work by making the platform prove they deserve legal protection, rather than making the person suing prove they don't deserve it. In practical terms, this means social media companies, websites, and online services could face more lawsuits from people harmed by content on their platforms—especially in cases involving harassment, civil rights violations, or deaths. Platforms would need to be more careful about moderating content and could face legal consequences if they ignore court orders to remove dangerous material or if they're profiting from hosting harmful speech.

SAFE TECH Act

Warner, Mark R.

Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism, and Consumer Harms Act or the SAFE TECH Act This bill limits federal liability protection that applies to a user or provider of an interactive computer service (e.g., a social media company) for claims related to content provided by third parties. Specifically, the bill applies the liability protection to claims arising from third-party speech rather than third-party information. Additionally, the liability protection shall not apply if a user or provider (1) accepts payment to make the speech available, or (2) creates or funds (in whole or in part) the speech. The bill changes legal procedures concerning the liability protection by (1) requiring a defendant in a lawsuit to raise the liability protection as an affirmative defense, and (2) placing the burden of proving that the defense applies on the defendant. Some courts have held that the current liability protection bars claims for civil penalties and injunctive relief. The bill expressly excludes from the liability protection requests for injunctive relief arising from a provider's failure to remove, restrict access to, or prevent dissemination of material likely to cause irreparable harm. However, the bill protects a provider from liability for actions taken to comply with such injunctions. Under current law, the liability protection does not apply to federal criminal law, intellectual property law, and other designated areas of law. The bill further specifies that the liability protection shall not apply to civil rights law; antitrust law; stalking, harassment, or intimidation laws; international human rights law; and civil actions for wrongful death.