'Tesla Takedown' organizers call on Democrats to shield Section 230

Dozens of activists who helped organize protests this year against Elon Musk's company Tesla are calling on Democratic leaders in Congress to drop efforts to repeal Section 230, arguing the statute protects their activism efforts.

In a letter sent Thursday to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other Democratic leaders, 60 activists with the "Tesla Takedown" movement urged lawmakers to "leave Section 230 alone."

"Without this law to protect our online speech and communities from censorship, we would never have been able to coordinate our movement on such a scale," the letter stated. "Instead, the social media platforms we used to share information would have deplatformed us, for fear of being sued by Elon Musk or his supporters."

"Being able to organize online together is a source of our strength and resilience. Don’t destroy it," the letter added.

The organizers behind the letter said they coordinated nearly 300 protests against the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla last month as part of the broader demonstration against Musk and his leadership of President Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) cost-cutting initiatives.

Musk also owns the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Durbin, alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are expected to soon introduce a bill to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects technology companies from being held legally responsible for third party or user consent.

The law was passed in 1996, years before the social media boom hit the internet. Advocates of reforming Section 230 have long argued the internet is significantly different than it was in 1996 and the law should be updated to reflect these changes.

The protest organizers argued "Big Tech" companies like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, would be able to withstand the stripped protections but smaller platforms might not.

"Without the first amendment of the Internet, their competitors like Bluesky and Reddit will either have to bend the knee to the Trump administration and delete people and posts as he sees fit — or else, allow violent threats and intimidation against activists like us to rain down with no repercussions," the letter stated.

The Hill reached out to Durbin and Graham's office for comment.

Efforts to reform or repeal Section 230 have support from factions on both sides of the aisle, though usually for different reasons.

Democrats who support sunsetting Section 230 argue it will hold tech platforms responsible for the harms they allegedly cause users, while some Republicans argue the statute gives social media protection if a person, group or organization claims censorship of certain political views.