Congress Moves to Strip Big Tech of Section 230 Protections by 2027

A bipartisan plan aims to hold tech companies accountable for child safety failures and censorship of conservative voices.

A group of U.S. lawmakers from both parties has introduced legislation that would dismantle one of Big Tech’s most powerful legal shields. Just before Christmas 2025, senators including Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin, Josh Hawley, Amy Klobuchar, Marsha Blackburn, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody unveiled a bill that would sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act effective January 1, 2027.

Section 230, enacted in 1996, protects online platforms from being held legally responsible for user-generated content and grants them broad authority to moderate that content. The law was originally designed to promote a free and open internet while discouraging the spread of obscene material. But critics now say it’s a relic that allows companies like Meta, Alphabet, TikTok, Snap, and X to avoid consequences for practices that are harmful to children and suppress dissenting views—especially conservative ones.

While lawmakers have introduced a range of proposals in recent years to curb what they view as Big Tech’s unchecked power, industry lobbying efforts have repeatedly stalled progress. By scheduling the end of Section 230’s protections, lawmakers hope to force tech companies to engage in genuine negotiations over reform.

Advocates argue that without the immunity Section 230 provides, these companies would no longer be able to sidestep responsibility for the addictive, explicit, and often dangerous content that appears on their platforms. The looming sunset could also serve as leverage to pass other stalled legislation, such as the Kids Online Safety Act—which passed the Senate in 2024—and data privacy measures modeled on the American Privacy Rights Act.

Supporters of the bill say that letting Section 230 expire would compel Congress to act decisively. “With our children and the future of free speech hanging in the balance, it’s time to put Big Tech on defense,” proponents of the plan said.

The proposed sunset marks a significant escalation in the ongoing battle between federal lawmakers and the tech industry, setting up a showdown over who ultimately holds the power to shape the digital public square.