Lawmakers push for online speech protection bill before end of the year

Proponents of legislation that would protect online speech are pushing for passage before members leave for the year, arguing it’s necessary to protect the integrity of information that consumers publish in online reviews.

“The beauty of the Internet is, you can go online and read customers’ honest reviews, whether on Amazon or Yelp or TripAdvisor,” Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “But if the big companies, or even some small companies, don’t like what you write in a review, they can sue you for tens of thousands of dollars, even if they’re going to lose.”