Five and Ten Years Ago Today

Five Years Ago

This week in 2020, the ACLU told congress not to add a terrible copyright bill to the must-pass government funding bill. Senator Tillis was trying to slide a dangerous felony streaming bill in as well (the details of which showed it was a weird gift to Hollywood at the expense of taxpayers). Meanwhile, Trump was doubling down again on his threat to veto the NDAA if it didn’t include a repeal of Section 230 (among other things). As a parting shot on her way out of congress, Tulsi Gabbard introduced yet another attack on Section 230, while Biden’s top tech advisor trotted out his own dangerous ideas for “reforming” 230.

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2015, it was Hillary Clinton doubling down on attacks on tech, in this case demanding a “solution” for encryption and a clampdown on free speech. Mitch McConnell was asking Obama to spell out a law that would ban encryption so the Senate could deliver it. Rep. McCaul was proposing a commission to study online radicalization.