Disincentivizing Internet Service Censorship of Online Users and Restrictions on Speech and Expression Act

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Competitive dynamics
• Governance failure
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Exposure to toxic content
• False or misleading information
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Power centralization and unfair distribution

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document primarily addresses risks related to content moderation practices, platform governance, and free speech concerns. It has good coverage of governance failure (6.5) and competitive dynamics (6.4), with minimal coverage of discrimination (1.1), toxic content (1.2), misinformation (3.1, 3.2), and malicious actors (4.1). The focus is on platform accountability and transparency rather than direct AI system risks.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Information

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs the Information sector, specifically interactive computer service providers (social media platforms, content platforms) with dominant market share. It does not substantially address other economic sectors.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a proposed federal statute (Act of Congress) that would amend existing law (Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934) with binding legal obligations, enforcement mechanisms, and mandatory compliance requirements for covered entities.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a proposed Act of Congress, as indicated by the title 'DISCOURSE Act' and the legislative format amending existing U.S. law (Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934).

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Deployer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Entities: Interactive computer service providers with dominant market share; Mass-market interactive computer service providers
• Summary: The Act specifically targets 'provider of an interactive computer service with a dominant market share' and 'provider of an interactive computer service that provides the service through a mass-market offering to the public', which are platforms that deploy AI systems for content moderation and algorithmic amplification.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Federal Communications Commission (Commission); Courts (civil and criminal)
• Summary: The FCC is referenced as the body that would receive and publish disclosure information. Courts are implicitly the enforcers through civil and criminal actions where providers must prove immunity as an affirmative defense.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, Affected_Stakeholder
• Entities: Federal Communications Commission; Public/consumers; Entrepreneurs and small businesses
• Summary: The FCC would monitor through public disclosure requirements. The public, consumers, and small businesses are positioned as monitors through access to disclosed information about content moderation practices.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document primarily addresses the Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages of the AI lifecycle, focusing on content moderation systems, algorithmic amplification, and ongoing disclosure requirements. It does not substantially cover earlier stages like planning, data collection, or model building.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document does not explicitly define or mention AI models, AI systems, or specific AI categories. It focuses on 'algorithms' and 'automated computer processes' used for content moderation and amplification by interactive computer service providers. No compute thresholds, model types, or technical AI classifications are referenced.