On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Texas law that forbids online platforms from moderating users’ content “based on the viewpoint of the user.”

“Prohibiting social media sites from taking down harmful content would mean more hate speech, harassment, and misinformation online,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Not only is that dangerous, but it throws out years of legal precedent affirming that online platforms have a First Amendment right to decide what appears on their sites.”

Chamber of Progress led amicus briefs with a coalition of other tech and civil society groups urging federal courts to stop Texas’s law. The briefs highlight how Texas’s law would provide safe harbor to hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful posts should it go into effect.

During consideration of the social media bill, Chamber of Progress urged Texas legislators to vocally oppose the measure. Lawmakers on the left questioned the bill’s sponsor for his history of posting violent content online and offered amendments that would have protected the ability of social media sites to take down posts related to Holocaust denial and terrorism. The Democratic amendments were ultimately rejected.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.