[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7819 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7819
To amend the Communications Decency Act to remove immunity for online
firearms marketplaces, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 18, 2022
Mr. Crow (for himself, Mr. Jeffries, Ms. Porter, and Ms. Stevens)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Decency Act to remove immunity for online
firearms marketplaces, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accountability for Online Firearms
Marketplaces Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The core purpose of section 230 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) (commonly known as the
``Communications Decency Act'') (referred to in this section as
``Section 230'') is to provide a specific protection for online
platforms acting as Good Samaritans to stop online abuse.
Specifically, Section 230 states that providers of interactive
computer services will not be treated as publishers or speakers
of user-generated content. In turn, the provision entrusted
providers to act as Good Samaritans police their platforms by
blocking and screening offensive content.
(2) Section 230 bars actions that hold providers liable as
publishers of third-party content, but the statute is
irrelevant to claims unrelated to such publications. If a claim
does not treat the defendant as a publisher, Section 230 should
not apply.
(3) However, courts have interpreted Section 230 as
providing sweeping immunity for a broad array of providers,
including providers alleged to have facilitated violations of
criminal laws online. This interpretation is overly broad and
discourages the self-policing that Section 230 intended to
incentivize.
(4) In Daniel v. Armslist, the Wisconsin Supreme Court read
Section 230 to bar claims against an online firearms
marketplace. The court's decision swept so broadly as to cover
websites designed to encourage and facilitate firearms
trafficking in violation of chapter 44 of title 18, United
States Code.
(5) Online firearms marketplaces have made it increasingly
easy for people who are prohibited from gun ownership to
purchase guns online. Online firearms marketplaces facilitate
such sales because while Federal law requires licensed gun
dealers to perform background checks on prospective buyers, it
does not require unlicensed sellers to do so. For more than a
decade, online firearms marketplaces have exploited this legal
loophole by allowing unlicensed sellers to sell guns directly
to people prohibited from gun ownership.
(6) Every year, unlicensed sellers post more than 1,000,000
advertisements on online firearms marketplaces in States that
do not legally require a background check. Individuals with
criminal histories and other prohibited purchasers rely on
these postings to evade basic background check laws and procure
firearms. One study found that nearly 1 in 9 prospective gun
buyers who respond to advertisements from unlicensed sellers on
a major online firearms marketplace would not pass a background
check, which is a rate that is 7 times higher than the denial
rate in contexts where background checks are required.
(7) Congress did not intend for Section 230 to bar
otherwise valid claims against online firearms marketplaces for
their own design of a website that encourages and contributes
to its users circumventing Federal laws, including Federal gun
laws.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE.
Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``No provider''
and inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), no
provider''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Treatment of publisher or speaker does not apply to
online firearms marketplace.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to
an online firearms marketplace, for purposes of any claim in an
action brought against the online firearms marketplace in its
capacity as an online firearms marketplace.''; and
(2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Online firearms marketplace.--The term `online
firearms marketplace' means an interactive computer service
that--
``(A) facilitates transactions related to firearms,
firearms accessories, firearms equipment, and other
firearms-related materials;
``(B) advertises or makes available any posting or
listing of any statement by a transferor or by a
transferee that could be reasonably inferred to propose
the transfer of a firearm; or
``(C) makes digital instructions in the form of
Computer Aided Design files or other code that can
automatically program a 3-dimensional printer or
similar device to produce a firearm or complete a
firearm from an unfinished frame or receiver,
regardless of whether such transactions or other activities
violate the terms of service of the interactive computer
service.
``(6) Firearm.-- The term `firearm' has the meaning given
the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.''.
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