On Wednesday, a coalition of digital rights and free speech groups wrote to Texas lawmakers, urging them to reject H.B. 2690, an abortion censorship bill. The legislation would compel Internet providers to block certain abortion websites and would force platforms to proactively censor information about abortion access or mutual aid funds. Signers included Chamber of Progress, a tech industry organization; PEN America, a free expression group; and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights group.

Read the Full Letter: How H.B. 2690 endangers reproductive care and telehealth

The letter states:

“As drafted, H.B. 2690 may lead to services censoring direct messages between patients and caregivers on how to obtain safe care. It may also force services to block or censor telemedicine counseling services in which medical professionals advise pregnant people on a variety of reproductive health services, including but not limited to legal abortions.”

“Restricting access to factual information about abortion access would pose harm to all women, especially communities of color and to low-income women. It is already especially difficult for underserved racial and ethnic minority people to access and use reproductive health services as needed. Women who already have challenges accessing health care may especially depend on the Internet to find and receive accurate information about reproductive health.”

For more on the impacts of Texas’s H.B. 2690, read Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich’s op-ed this week in the Austin American-Statesman.

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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.