Graham-Blumenthal Bill Seeks to Sunset Section 230 Immunity for Big Tech
22 September 2026
The Senate Judiciary Committee released a bipartisan draft bill today to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Act within two years, aiming to hold major tech companies accountable for online harms.
The "Sunset Section 230 Act," led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), would sunset the legal immunity that Section 230 currently grants to "interactive computer services" for liability related to content posted by third-party users. The bill would take effect two years after enactment, and include technical amendments to define "interactive computer service" to include library and educational services.
"Too often, the immunity provided to major tech companies enables harmful conduct to fester on their platforms without recourse for the American people," the sponsors said in a press release. "This bill will empower those who suffer online abuse and provide mechanisms to meaningfully hold big tech accountable, finally."
What the Draft Changes: Two-Year Sunset
If passed, the Sunset Section 230 Act would fully repeal the immunity granted in Section 230(c) after two years. This marks a shift from recent bipartisan proposals to only carve specific exceptions, such as trafficking and terrorism.
The Judiciary Committee's press release said the bill is intended to let people "bring legal action against companies" for harms they suffer online. A separate report from The Hill framed it as one of the first significant bipartisan efforts to sunset Section 230 in years.
Some recent proposals, such as the EARN IT Act, have sought narrower reforms to clarify when liability protections apply and remove "otherwise objectionable" speech in favor of categories like "unlawful" content, terrorism, and self-harm. The Graham-Durbin bill would instead fully phase out protections within the two-year timeframe.
Why Sponsors Say it is Needed
Supporters of the bill argue that the full immunity currently granted to major tech platforms encourages them to spread dangerous content, and that users currently lack recourse when they suffer online harms. In a time of growing concerns about misinformation, partisan polarization, and distressing material being readily spread online, the sponsors argue, the liability shield should be lifted.
The Justice Department issued a proposal in 2022 that called for carving out civil claims such as child sexual exploitation, terrorism, and cyberstalking from the immunities granted in Section 230. And a recent congressional research service report identified some reforms introduced through the institution since 2017.
The Senate Commerce Committee last October introduced a bill sponsored by Graham and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to empower consumers against online harms such as price gouging and fraud. That draft, lower down on the liability reform ladder, sought to expand 230’s narrow "good faith" conduit exception, among other provisions.
How Broad the Bipartisan Coalition Is
The Sunset Section 230 sponsors come from both parties and include Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), current Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin and former chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA), as well as Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal, Peter Welch, Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, and Sheldon Whitehouse, among others.
The bill is also notable for not including Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who called on Twitter last month that Section 230 reform was "preposterous" and dismissed proposals as impossible. He has argued the law shields companies from misinformation, fraud, and scams, among other online abuses.
Opponents and General Issues
Opponents of Section 230 reform are concerned that narrowing or repealing its protections could harm online speech overall and create regulatory uncertainty. During a Senate hearing last fall, one witness warned that full repeal would likely make the internet "worse for user speech rights" and impose costly legal uncertainty that dominant players could survive, but startups could not.
The Senate Commerce Committee just last week held a hearing on "intriguing" Section 230 reform ideas tied to artificial intelligence, algorithmic content amplification, and online platform design. Members of both parties are looking at novel policy options, including a bipartisan bill to promote online political transparency.
The full Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a draft bill to bar government officials from pressuring networks to block speech, part of a push for a stronger free speech regime since the Content Moderation System report of 2022.
How It Moves Forward
The Sunset Section 230 Act is now pending in committee, so the next step will be voting on the bill. If approved by the Judiciary Committee, it would then go to the full Senate. The House version carried no floor votes.
The title of this draft plus the language about "protecting" Democrats seems to reflect its framing: a Democratic effort to sunset technology companies’ immunity for political reasons.
What's now known is that there is urgent bipartisan momentum for Congress to take more action to regulate technology companies, and the makeup of today's bill sponsors both aggrandizes and narrows the path ahead: it shows how widely held as well as how controversial the notion of eliminating the tech industry's safe harbor has become.