Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties

Social media content rules

19 public statements from 2026 candidates · 1 related bill

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These rules shape what you can post and see online, including how much platforms take down and whether they can be sued over content that harms someone.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether social media companies should keep deciding which posts to allow or remove, and keep Section 230, the law that shields them from most lawsuits over what users post.1

  1. Limit platforms' power to remove or hide lawful posts, for example by tying their legal protection to treating all viewpoints equally
  2. Keep current law, letting platforms set their own rules
  3. Make platforms more legally responsible for harmful content, such as posts their algorithms promote

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Limit platforms' power to remove or hide lawful posts, for example by tying their legal protection to treating all viewpoints equally (1)

  • Todd Schaefer FL-4
    His campaign website says technology companies silence diverse voices through shadow banning, algorithms and removals, that limits on speech should come from the law rather than from big tech, and that he will push for protections against these erosions.2

Make platforms more legally responsible for harmful content, such as posts their algorithms promote (6)

  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would require platforms to disclose how their recommendation algorithms work and to have regular outside audits of systems that amplify hate or harassment, and would set enforceable standards with penalties requiring platforms to demonetize hate networks.3
  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says Section 230 legal protection should end for violent content that platforms amplify.4
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's platform says platforms should be held accountable for documented harms to minors without being able to hide behind Section 230.5
  • Lindsay James IA-2
    Her campaign website says online platforms and chatbots should be held accountable when they promote damaging content to young people.6
  • Jake Auchincloss MA-4
    His campaign website says he is leading legislation to hold social media and AI companies liable for deepfakes, harassment and other harms.7
  • James Talarico TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would narrow the broad legal immunity that protects social media companies and require regular reviews of their algorithms.8

Statements that don't match one option (12)

  • Sam Liccardo CA-16
    His campaign website proposes replacing Section 230's broad liability shield for social media platforms with a safe harbor only for companies that meet the best practices for protecting children.9
  • Emre Houser ID-2
    His platform page says the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstituted and applied to social media.10
  • Daniel Biss IL-9
    His campaign website says he supports forcing social media platforms to disclose how content is promoted and to allow researchers to study their algorithms, and requiring platforms to strengthen safeguards against coordinated disinformation, bots and overseas troll farms.11
  • Shiva Ayyadurai MA Senate
    His campaign website calls for a Digital Bill of Rights to protect people's speech from censorship and manipulation.12
  • Heather Smiley MI-6
    Her campaign website says she supports protecting and ensuring original, impartial and unrestricted creation and distribution of content across all media platforms.13
  • Ann Wagner MO-2
    Her campaign website says she wrote the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, which it says lets states and trafficking victims hold online platforms responsible for facilitating sex trafficking.14
  • Jack Codiga NC-12
    His platform page says he supports legislation requiring transparency about the algorithms of digital platforms, including letting users view content in chronological order.15
  • Lily Tang Williams NH-2
    Her campaign website says censorship carried out when government works together with large technology companies or the media is dangerous, and that constitutional rights, including free speech, apply in both the physical and the digital town square.16
  • Robbie Mahrou NH-2
    His campaign website says government pressure on technology and AI platforms is a growing threat to free speech, and lists support for the Free Speech Protection Act (S. 188) against government-directed censorship of lawful speech among the steps he would take.17
  • Damon Galdo NJ-1
    His campaign website says he would defend the First Amendment and oppose government censorship, and would push for openness about contacts between government agencies and media or technology companies.18
  • Adam Rueda NJ-5
    His campaign website says free speech has been lost and should be restored on the internet, at work and in news media, and describes censorship on social media as a problem.19
  • Bill Hagerty TN Senate
    His campaign website says that as a senator he is working to defend First Amendment rights from big tech companies.20

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.