On Friday, X, the company formerly known as Twitter, brought a suit in the Eastern District of California against AB 587, a state law requiring social media companies to divulge information about their content moderation practices and policies. The lawsuit makes First Amendment claims that California’s content moderation law requires compelled speech and interferes with editorial discretion. X also claims the law violates the dormant commerce clause.

“Requiring companies to give their content moderation playbook to scammers and conspiracists is a bad idea,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Even if you don’t like anything about Elon Musk’s leadership of X, it’s clear that requiring tech platforms to publish a detailed blueprint of how to work around content moderators will have negative consequences for users online. Letting platforms set their own editorial standards also leaves consumers with more choices about what kind of platforms they spend time on.”

Chamber of Progress opposed AB 587 during its consideration in the California legislature, raising concerns that the bill would tip off criminals, trolls, and other bad actors online.

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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.