On Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) unveiled legislation aimed at stopping increasingly prevalent Big Tech censorship by stripping massive corporations of platform protections if said companies do not maintain political neutrality. The Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act specifically addresses how massive tech platforms are treated under under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).

“With Section 230, tech companies get a sweetheart deal that no other industry enjoys: complete exemption from traditional publisher liability in exchange for providing a forum free of political censorship,” Hawley explained on Wednesday.

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“Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, big tech has failed to hold up its end of the bargain,” the senator continued. “There’s a growing list of evidence that shows big tech companies making editorial decisions to censor viewpoints they disagree with. Even worse, the entire process is shrouded in secrecy because these companies refuse to make their protocols public.”

Under the Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act, tech giants could only ensure their government-granted immunity by bringing “transparency and accountability to their editorial processes and prove that they don’t discriminate,” Hawley said.

Hawley’s website details what would be implemented and the mechanics of the bill if it were to be signed into law, highlighting:

Removes automatic immunity under Section 230 from big tech companies
Gives big tech companies the ability to earn immunity through external audits
Big tech companies would have to prove to the FTC by clear and convincing evidence that their algorithms and content-removal practices are politically neutral
The FTC could not certify big tech companies for immunity except by a supermajority vote
Big tech companies would be responsible for the cost of conducting audits
Big tech companies would have to reapply for immunity every two years
The senator’s legislation only targets giant tech companies, applying “to companies with more than 30 million active monthly users in the U.S., more than 300 million active monthly users worldwide, or who have more than $500 million in global annual revenue.”

The bill comes as censorship against conservatives, or anyone not echoing far-left dogma, continues to grow on sites like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. (Excerpt from Daily Signal.)