As part of its commitment to promoting healthy and safe online communities, Chamber of Progress announced its new Vice President of Legal Advocacy, Elizabeth Banker. Banker will focus on defending two vital legal tools — the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — that help make the Internet a better place, free of hate, harassment, hoaxes and disinformation.

Chamber of Progress has been active in opposing state bills in Florida, California, and Texas that would erode platforms’ content moderation rights, and is also active in defending Section 230 in Congress. Banker’s work will expand the organization’s advocacy beyond legislative efforts and into the courts, where cases involving platforms’ Section 230 and First Amendment rights have risen dramatically.

“Section 230 and the First Amendment are the two most important tools enabling services to combat hate speech, harassment, and disinformation — but right now those laws are under threat in the courts,” said Elizabeth Banker. “By working to defend these legal keystones, we’re working for healthier, safer online communities.”
Banker has served in private practice; in in-house legal roles at Yahoo and Twitter; and as deputy general counsel at Internet Association, where among other things she led a comprehensive study of Section 230 litigation. She’s widely recognized as a leading expert on Internet law.

Approximately 100 active cases implicating Section 230 or the First Amendment are currently pending in U.S. courts. The first quarter of 2021 alone saw three times as many content removal cases as were filed during the entirety of 2017. State legislatures have also introduced a barrage of social media bills this year, with more than a hundred “anti-censorship” state bills introduced in 2021.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

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