Wyden blocks intelligence bill over concerns about online speech

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden blocked a bill Tuesday that authorizes 2016 funding for the FBI, CIA, and the National Security Agency because of a provision that would require Twitter, Facebook and other social media companies to take "drastic steps" to police their users' online speech.

The Oregon Democrat placed a hold on the bill in hopes of working with Senate leaders to remove or revise the provision, which is opposed by major U.S. tech companies. Under Senate rules, any senator has the power to place a hold on a bill to prevent it — at least temporarily — from coming to a vote.

The provision would require Internet and social media companies to report to the government any “terrorist activity” they are aware of on their sites. The companies would have to judge when their customers' speech rises to the level of a terrorist action.

“Internet companies should not be subject to broad requirements to police the speech of their users,” Wyden said in a statement he submitted to the Senate for the record.

Wyden is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and voted for the legislation in committee last month when it passed 15-0. He flagged the social media provision at that time and said he intended to consult with tech companies before deciding whether to support the bill's passage by the full Senate.

“There is no question that tracking terrorist activity and preventing online terrorist recruitment should be top priorities for law enforcement and intelligence agencies," said Wyden, a leading privacy advocate in the Senate. "But I haven’t yet heard any law enforcement or intelligence agencies suggest that this provision will actually help catch terrorists.”

At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on July 8, FBI Director James Comey said that U.S. social media companies already speak up voluntarily when they see something that appears to be terrorist activity.

"I do find in practice they are pretty good about telling us what they see," Comey said.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., had no immediate comment Tuesday on Wyden's action.

The Internet Association, which represents Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and other major Internet companies, has objected to the breadth and vague language of the reporting provision.

The association says uncertainty over what the language means will create "an impossible compliance problem" for Internet companies and result in "massive reporting of items that are not likely to be of material concern to public safety."

Social media, especially Twitter, is increasingly being used by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State to recruit followers, federal officials say.

Comey, in a speech at the Aspen Security Forum last week, said the Islamic State has influenced a significant but unknown number of Americans through a year-long campaign on social media urging supporters to "kill where you are."

Twitter handles associated with the terrorist group have more than 21,000 English-language followers worldwide, including in the USA, Comey said.

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