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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, In our modern world, much of our social and
3political discourse has moved to digital platforms, such as
4YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit; and
 
5    WHEREAS, These digital platforms have allowed any American
6with an internet connection to express his or her beliefs
7freely; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Because these digital platforms have become so
9popular, they are now the primary location in which discourse
10is conducted, with Facebook having 2.9 billion worldwide
11users, YouTube having 2.3 billion, and Instagram having 1.3
12billion; and
 
13    WHEREAS, This prevalence allows these platforms to
14exercise far more control over Americans' lives than other
15businesses; in fact, Justice Clarence Thomas recently
16suggested that "There is a fair argument that some digital
17platforms are sufficiently akin to common carriers or places
18of accommodation to be regulated in this manner."; and
 
19    WHEREAS, As part of this online discourse, some social
20media websites offer "like" and "dislike" buttons, in which
21social media users can register their support or disagreement

 

 

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1with what has been posted; the amount of "likes" and
2"dislikes" on some sites is then displayed to other users; and
 
3    WHEREAS, On November 10, 2021, the social media and video
4sharing website YouTube made the decision to no longer make
5"dislike" totals visible to the public; and
 
6    WHEREAS, YouTube claimed that removal of the dislike
7totals would prevent online harassment; however, the changes
8appears to be politically motivated after videos on the White
9House's official YouTube channel began to receive five times
10as many dislikes as likes on some videos; and
 
11    WHEREAS, YouTube's efforts to inhibit the speech of
12Americans to protect one political view point is harmful to
13the fabric of our nation; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
15HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we urge President Joseph Biden and the United States Congress
17to enact measures to discourage further restraints on speech
18by tech companies, such as amendments to Section 230 of the
19Communications Decency Act of 1996, regulation of digital
20platforms as common carriers, or legislative limits on tech
21companies' ability to restrict free speech activity on their
22platforms; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2delivered to President Joseph Biden, U.S. Senate Majority
3Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch
4McConnell, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House
5of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and all
6members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.