united-states internet
Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act and retweeting with comment
<p>The bill <a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s4534/BILLS-116s4534is.xml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act (OFVDA)</a> would, if, passed, amend CDA 230.  It includes the following text:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>RESPONSIBILITY: For purposes of subparagraph (A), being responsible in whole or in part for the creation or development of information</p>
<p>(i) includes any instance in which a person or entity <strong>editorializes</strong> or affirmatively and substantively modifies the content of another person or entity;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On Twitter one can retweet someone's original text as a quote and add your own text.</p>
<ol>
<li>Would retweeting with comment like that count as &quot;editorializes&quot; under the OFVDA?</li>
<li>If so, what effect would it have under the OFVDA?</li>
</ol>

<h2>This is how a court will deal with it</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Is &quot;editorialize&quot; defined in the Bill?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is &quot;editorialize&quot; defined in statute or case law?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is &quot;editorialize&quot; defined in common usage as which may or may not involve having a dictionary definition? Dictionaries lag behind language so they are not definitive. That said, a legislature will usually not use words that are so new that they haven't reached the dictionary, and &quot;editorialize&quot; is not such a word anyway.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Now, I don't think it's defined in the act and I am not aware of a legal definition that is different from common English usage. So from <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/editorialize" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Merium-Webster</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li><p>to express an opinion in the form of an editorial</p>
</li>
<li><p>to introduce opinion into the reporting of facts</p>
</li>
<li><p>to express an opinion (as on a controversial issue)</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>In the context of the Bill, the third definition seems most appropriate: &quot;to express an opinion&quot;.</p>
<p>Whether a comment is &quot;editorializing&quot; will depend on the comment: &quot;Hey, look at this!&quot; is not editorializing; &quot;What a crock!&quot; is.</p>
