Changing or repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act will harm both free speech and platforms' ability to act responsibly to protect users, instead of achieving the intended objective, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet, said in a written testimony to a US government subcommittee. Pichai underlined that Section 230 "foundational to the open web" and permits every platform and website to responsibly manage content. Without Section 230, platforms would either over-filter content or not be able to filter content at all. In the fight against misinformation, Section 230 allows companies to take decisive action on harmful misinformation and keep up with bad actors who work hard to circumvent their policies. [emphasis supplied] In recent months, Democrats have called to reform Section 230 and Republicans have been pushing to scrap it entirely. Pichai is due to testify before the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce. Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg is expected to once again bat for Section 230 reform and overhauling in Thursday's hearing. Twitter's Jack Dorsey will speak about the company's investments in providing users with transparency and control over their data and algorithms governing the platform. The focus instead should be on ensuring "transparent, fair, and effective processes for addressing harmful content and behavior," Pichai said. These can include developing clear and accessible content policies, notifying people whose content is removed, and letting them appeal it, sharing how systems to remove harmful content work. "With this in mind, we are committed not only…
