H.R. 6746: Sunset To Reform Section 230 Act

H.R. 6746, introduced on December 16, 2025, by Ms. Hageman in the 119th Congress and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, does one thing: it adds a new subsection (g) to Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, codified at 47 U.S.C. 230. That new language says Section 230 "shall have no force or effect after December 31, 2026." There are no phase-ins, no pilot programs, and no partial carveouts in the bill text provided — just a hard federal sunset date.

That matters because Section 230 has long been the basic legal framework protecting online platforms from many claims tied to user-posted content. Under this bill, that framework would not be revised or narrowed; it would simply expire at the end of 2026. Starting on January 1, 2027, the text says Section 230 would have "no force or effect," meaning companies, users, plaintiffs, and courts would be thrown into a very different legal environment unless Congress passed a replacement before that deadline.

The bill is notable for what it does not include. The fact sheet lists no dollar amounts, no federal grant programs, no agency rulemaking instructions, no civil penalties, no criminal penalties, no age-based provisions, and no delayed implementation beyond the single deadline of December 31, 2026. It applies under federal law across the United States and amends the Communications Act of 1934 directly, rather than creating a separate study or commission.

In plain English, this is a pressure tactic written into statute. Supporters may see the December 31, 2026 deadline as a forcing mechanism to make Congress finally rewrite internet liability rules. Critics will likely argue that wiping out Section 230 entirely, with zero replacement language in H.R. 6746 itself, could trigger legal uncertainty across social media, search, reviews, forums, marketplaces, and other services that host user content.