Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Supports Trump Call to End Section 230

LOS ANGELES—Outgoing House of Representatives member Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday became the only congressional Democrat to publicly support Donald Trump’s pledge to veto a crucial defense spending bill unless it contained a provision repealing Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a law often described as the “First Amendment of the Internet.”  Because Section 230 protects online platforms from legal liability over user-generated content, the law is crucial in allowing free expression for the adult industry, and any sexual content, online. Without the 24-year-old law, adult material could be heavily censored by digital service providers.  But Trump has long been angered by social media companies' ongoing censorship of posts that almost exclusively target Republican talking points, and has pushed for the law’s repeal for most of 2020. Earlier this week, he announced that unless the National Defense Authorization Act — a routine bill that passes annually, to fund the United States military — included an amendment to repeal Section 230, he would veto the bill. “I fully support you on this,” Gabbard — herself an Iraq war veteran — wrote on her own Twitter account, tagging Trump in the post. “Please don’t back down. The freedom and future of our country is at stake.” Gabbard, who has served four House terms representing Hawaii’s Second District, did not run for reelection in 2020, saying that she preferred to focus on her candidacy for the Democratic presdential nomination. According to The Atlantic magazine, however, Gabbard may have also. been concerned about facing a tough primary challenge in her House race from popular Hawaii State Senator Kai Kahele, who in November won his election and will take Gabbard’s seat in Congress in January.  During House proceedings to approve articles of impeachment against Trump in 2019, Gabbard was the lone Democrat not to vote in favor of the articles. Instead, she voted “present,” declining either to support or oppose Trump’s impeachment. In October, Gabbard joined with Republican Paul Gosar to co-author the “Don’t Push My Buttons Act” which would effectively repeal Section 230 protections for any social media site.  In a statement when she introduced the bill, Gabbard accused social media sites of  “causing physical, spiritual and mental suffering and pain,” and “tearing us apart and destroying our nation.” Gabbard’s father, Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard, last year introduced a bill in the state legislature that would block online porn sites in that state, unblocking them only for users who pay a one-time, $20 fee to the state. Photo By Marc Nozell / Wikimedia Commons