H.R. 6266: Algorithm Accountability Act

This bill, known as the Algorithm Accountability Act, aims to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to change the liability protections currently afforded to certain social media platforms under Section 230. Here are the main points of the bill:

1. Liability Limitations for Social Media Platforms

The bill introduces new responsibilities for social media platforms, particularly focusing on algorithms that recommend content to users. Specifically, it requires platforms to:

• Exercise Reasonable Care: Social media platforms must use reasonable care in designing and maintaining their recommendation algorithms to prevent harm that could lead to bodily injuries or death.
• Accountability for Injuries: If users are harmed due to the operation of these recommendation algorithms—either directly or as a result of actions taken by a user influenced by such algorithms—the platform may be held liable.

2. Scope of Liability

The act specifies that liability would apply when:

• The harm is foreseeable by the provider and is connected to the algorithm's design or performance.
• Cases qualify as bodily injuries or deaths either to a user of the platform or inflicted by users onto others.

3. Exceptions

There are exceptions to this liability:

• The ranking or recommending of content based solely on chronological sorting or responses to user-initiated searches does not incur liability under the act.
• The bill clarifies that it does not infringe upon First Amendment protections concerning the expression or viewpoint of users.

4. Enforcement Mechanisms

The bill establishes new enforcement mechanisms, including:

• Loss of Protection: Platforms that violate the new requirement could lose existing liability protections under Section 230.
• Civil Actions: Individuals affected by violations can bring civil lawsuits against platforms for both compensatory and punitive damages.
• Invalidation of Certain Agreements: Any predispute arbitration agreements that might limit the ability to sue are rendered unenforceable for claims under this act.

5. Definitions

Key definitions included in the bill clarify Terms such as:

• Recommendation-based Algorithm: An automated system used for ranking or promoting content based on user data.
• Social Media Platform: A for-profit service that allows users to create profiles or accounts primarily aimed at sharing and interacting with content, excluding smaller services with fewer than 1 million registered users.

6. Relationship to Existing Laws

The bill emphasizes that it does not interfere with existing federal or state laws that offer as much or more protection than those provided by this new legislation.

7. Severability Clause

This section of the bill ensures that if any part of the legislation is deemed unconstitutional, the remaining parts will still be valid and enforceable.

Relevant Companies

• FB (Meta Platforms, Inc.): As a major social media platform utilizing recommendation algorithms, they may face increased liability for user-generated content and the impact of their algorithms.
• GOOGL (Alphabet Inc.): Responsible for platforms like YouTube, which uses extensive algorithms to recommend content, potential liability could arise from harmful recommendations.
• AMZN (Amazon.com, Inc.): While primarily an ecommerce platform, Amazon's social aspects and recommendation engines could expose them to new legal risks under this bill.