(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s X Corp has filed a lawsuit against the state of California over a new transparency law for social media companies. The law, known as Assembly Bill 587, requires companies to publish their policies on policing disinformation, harassment, hate speech, and extremism.
X, formerly known as Twitter, argues that the law violates its free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and California’s state constitution. In its complaint filed in federal court in Sacramento, X claims that the law is intended to pressure social media companies into removing objectionable content, thereby forcing them to adopt the state’s views on politically charged issues. X describes this as a form of compelled speech.
After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk, who considers himself a free speech absolutist, laid off employees responsible for monitoring and regulating content. He also reinstated some accounts that had been banned by the previous management.
Since Musk took over, organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate have recorded an increase in hate speech on X, targeting Jews, Black people, gay men, and trans people.
Musk, known as the world’s richest person and also the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, now finds himself embroiled in a legal battle against the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, which enforces state laws.
Assembly Bill 587 mandates that social media companies with annual revenue exceeding $100 million must issue semiannual reports detailing their content moderation practices. They are also required to provide data on the number of objectionable posts and how they were addressed. Additionally, companies must share copies of their terms of service. Failure to comply with the law can result in civil fines of up to $15,000 per violation per day.
Last September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law, stating that the state will not allow social media to be used as a tool for spreading hate and disinformation.
Musk, who laid off thousands of employees after acquiring Twitter, recently blamed critics, including the ADL, for a 60% decline in U.S. advertising revenue.
In a recent interview, former head of brand safety and ad quality at X, A.J. Brown, expressed concerns about policy changes implemented by Musk, which reduced the visibility of objectionable posts on X instead of removing them, which made it difficult to convince advertisers that the platform was safe.
The lawsuit between X Corp and Bonta is currently pending in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, with the case number 23-at-00903.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Aurora Ellis)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
