On Monday, tech policy group Chamber of Progress urged Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to veto social media legislation (HB 2586) headed to the governor’s desk, warning of the bill’s unintended consequences. In a letter to the governor, Chamber of Progress highlighted that the bill’s requirements would endanger the privacy of all Arizonans by requiring online platforms to collect sensitive information on user identities. Chamber of Progress also raised concerns that the legislation’s vague prohibitions on harmful content could be weaponized against marginalized groups.

“We all want to make the online experience more safe and secure for users, but lawmakers need to be careful that new identity verification provisions and content monitoring don’t accidentally take the Internet in the wrong direction,” said Chamber of Progress Director of Technology Policy Todd O’Boyle. “This bill would unintentionally expose more sensitive personal information to online threats and put politicians in charge of deciding what content is harmful and what isn’t.”

In a statewide poll sponsored by Chamber of Progress, a plurality of Arizonans (42%) ranked their top tech policy priority as protecting consumers from scams and malware.

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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.