Lawmakers want to strip legal protections from the #facebook News Feed

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Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen Testifies Before Senate Commerce Subcommittee

Democratic lawmakers want social networks to face legal liability if they recommend harmful content to users. Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the “Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act,” which would amend Section 230’s protections to exclude “personalized recommendations” for content that contributes to physical or severe emotional injury.

The bill follows a recommendation Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen made before Congress last week. Haugen, a former employee who leaked extensive internal Facebook research, encouraged lawmakers to crack down on algorithms that promote, rank, or otherwise order content based on user engagement. It applies to web services…

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