Bipartisan Online Speech Bill, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, Passes

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The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan bill hailed as striking a blow for online free speech.The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 (HR 5111) now heads to President Barack Obama's desk.

The bill effectively disallows so-called "anti-disparagement clauses" that are meant to prevent negative online reviews by making them punishable by fines or promising lawsuits as part of those lengthy terms of service agreements that most people likely do not pore over before using an online service. The bill does not immunize online reviewers from civil actions for defamation, slander or libel or prevent any party's right to remove anything that is "false or misleading, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, inappropriate with respect to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other intrinsic characteristic," so it is not a flat prohibition and could contain some wiggle room in terms like "misleading" or "abusive."


Bipartisan Online Speech Bill, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, Passes