Congress·In Committee·S. 840

Digital Integrity in Democracy Act

Senate Panel Weighs Stripping Social Media Liability Shields for False Voting Info

Mar 4, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

StalledNext up: A senate committeeNo action in 16 months

A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.

Legislative Progress

Senate

No action since March 2025

House

President

Law

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 4977 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 4977 (118th) →

Key Points

Would limit legal protections for large social media platforms if they knowingly or intentionally leave up false information about how to vote.
Covers “objectively incorrect” details like when and where to vote, how voting works, and who is eligible—while excluding normal political opinions about candidates or parties.
Requires platforms to review written complaints and, if the info is wrong, take it down within 48 hours (or within 24 hours during an election period).
Lets the U.S. Attorney General, state officials, or affected candidates sue platforms that don’t remove the content on time, with set money damages per post and court orders to remove it.
Applies only to very large platforms (at least 25 million monthly U.S. users) and gives protection if the platform removes the false voting info quickly after learning about it.

Consumer ProtectionTechnologyCivil Rights

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 4, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

4 articles

Vermont Business Magazine·Aug 5, 2024

Welch introduces 'Digital Integrity' bill to counter false election administration content

Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led a group of senators in introducing the Digital Integrity in Democracy Act. The bill aims to hold social media platforms accountable for knowingly hosting false election administration information by carving out a narrow exception to Section 230 immunity.

Center

TechPolicy.Press·Aug 30, 2024

August 2024 US Tech Policy Roundup

The Digital Integrity in Democracy Act (S. 4977) was introduced to hold social media operators accountable for intentionally hosting false election administration information. The bill targets objectively incorrect details about voting procedures while excluding political speech about candidates.

Center

TechPolicy.Press·Mar 31, 2025

March 2025 US Tech Policy Roundup

Senator Peter Welch reintroduced the Digital Integrity in Democracy Act (S. 840) in March 2025. The legislation seeks to hold social media platforms liable if they knowingly host false information regarding the time, place, or manner of elections and fail to remove it within specified windows.

Center

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.