S. 1384: 21st Century FREE Speech Act
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S. 1384: 21st Century FREE Speech Act
117th Congress · introduced 2021-04-27 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2021-04-27 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
21st Century FREE Speech Act
Plain summary
21st Century Foundation for the Right to Express and Engage in Speech Act or the 21st Century FREE Speech Act This bill makes various changes to liability protections and requirements for providers and users of an interactive computer service (e.g., a social media company). The bill replaces existing liability protections (sometimes referred to as Section 230 protection) related to content provided by third parties with more limited protections. The bill provides some liability protection for third-party content, but the protection shall not apply to a provider or user who carries out certain affirmative acts, such as barring users from the service or restricting access to or availability of material. However, the protection shall apply if the action is taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of obscene, unlawful, or other similarly objectionable material. Additionally, the bill places specific requirements on common carrier technology companies, defined in the bill as providers that offer services to the public and have over 100 million active monthly users. These companies must furnish their services to all persons upon request and in a manner that does not discriminate against or unfairly advantage any particular persons, class of persons, political or religious groups, or localities; and publicly disclose their practices for moderating content, terminating accounts, and related matters. Aggrieved individuals and state entities may sue to enforce these requirements, and the Federal Communications Commission must develop best practices for complying with the requirements. The bill's provisions do not apply to designated areas of law, including criminal law and state law.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
21st Century FREE Speech Act
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] · 0 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] reported raising $8.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s1384.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>
Record fed-us-cong117-s1384 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117