Sec. 204. Study on COVID–19 disinformation
262 words·~1 min read·
/bill/116/hr/925/eah/section-204A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
No later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall enter into an arrangement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) to conduct a study on the current understanding of the spread of COVID–19-related disinformation on the internet and social media platforms. The study shall address the following: the role disinformation and misinformation has played in the public response to COVID–19; the sources of COVID–19-related disinformation—both foreign and domestic—and the mechanisms by which that disinformation influences the public debate; the role social media plays in the dissemination and promotion of COVID–19 disinformation and misinformation content and the role social media platforms play in the organization of groups seeking to spread COVID–19 disinformation; the potential financial returns for creators or distributors of COVID–19 disinformation, and the role such financial incentives play in the propagation of COVID–19 disinformation; potential strategies to mitigate the dissemination and negative impacts of COVID–19 disinformation, including specifically, the dissemination of disinformation on social media, including through improved disclosures; and an analysis of the limitations of these mitigation strategies, and an analysis of how these strategies can be implemented without infringing on Americans’ Constitutional rights and civil liberties.
In entering into an arrangement under this section, the Director shall request that the National Academies transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act. There is authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of conducting the study in this section $1,000,000.