Online Censorship Bill Just One Signature Away From Becoming Law In California

“If people think platforms remove their content too much now, they should expect to see the pattern significantly intensify with this law,” Shoshana Weissmann, director of digital media at the R Street Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Rather than risk liability for showing users content one could argue (even if it doesn’t actually) violate a law, platforms will over-moderate and remove posts in order to stay out of court.”

Under the proposed law, platforms with $100 million or more in annual revenue could face $1 million in fines if they intentionally, knowingly, or willfully “relay” content that violates state law through their algorithms. Companies found to be in reckless violation could face penalties of up to $500,000.

“Courts have recognized that algorithms are protected by the First Amendment, so punishing sites for using algorithms to deliver free speech would run into problems,” Weissmann said. “Further, the law doesn’t limit which kinds of algorithms would cause platforms to be held liable for user speech. This means even showing content in the order it was posted would have this effect under the law, as ‘reverse chronological order’ is an algorithm…”

Weissman added that platforms may also find it challenging to differentiate sarcasm, serious posts and sincere discussions about sensitive subjects, adding that over-removing content will be the only way they will be able to avoid liability.