California Green-Lights Law to Combat ‘Hate Speech,’ ‘Misinformation’ on Social Media

A stock photo of social media platform icons in a mobile device. Pixabay/Pexels

California now features a first-in-the-nation law requiring social media companies to publicly post their policies regarding “hate speech,” “disinformation,” “harassment,” and “extremism” on their platforms, and report data on their enforcement of the policies.

Social media companies, through their Internet Coalition and other trade associations, vigorously opposed the new law. Court challenges are being considered, trade groups said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 587—dubbed the Social Media Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021 and sponsored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills)—in September, saying, “California will not stand by as social media is weaponized to spread hate and disinformation that threaten our communities and foundational values as a country.”

Governor Gavin Newsom signs CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment) Court into law alongside state and local leaders and stakeholders in San Jose, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2022. Courtesy of Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

“Californians deserve to know how these platforms are impacting our public discourse, and this action brings much-needed transparency and accountability to the policies that shape the social media content we consume every day,” Newsom added, in a statement.

The new law requires social media companies earning over $100 million a year to disclose their “terms of service,” defined as a set of policies that specifies “the user behavior and activities that are permitted” on their platforms, according to the bill text.

These companies need to specify how they define and identify hate speech and disinformation, potential actions against users who violated the policies, and contact information for users with policy questions.

They are also required to drill down on the flagged content and provide public information on the types and numbers of violations. A semiannual terms-of-service report must be submitted to the California Attorney General no later than Jan. 1, 2024. Non-compliant companies are subject to a penalty of up to $15,000 a day for each violation.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google representatives contacted by Epoch Times did not immediately respond to questions about the new law.

However, Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—has been posting quarterly reports on how its “community standards” are enforced on the two platforms and how many violations are found in each policy area, including “dangerous organizations: terrorism and organized hate,” “regulated goods: drugs and firearms,” “child endangerment,” “adult nudity and sexual activity,” and “fake accounts.” The latest report was posted in August.

In this illustration photo taken in Los Angeles on Oct. 28, 2021, a person watches on a smartphone Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiling the META logo. Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

Chamber of Progress, an industry coalition that includes Google and Meta, said last month it was “absolutely” considering court challenges, saying such mandates raise First Amendment issues.

“It’s like requiring a bookstore to report to the government which books it carries, or requiring the New York Times to explain which stories it publishes,” said Adam Kovacevich, the coalition’s CEO.

Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, in Silicon Valley, wrote in a recent blog post that AB 587 “has censorial consequences.”

“Among other problems,” Goldman said, “by prioritizing certain content categories, the bill tells social media platforms that they must make special publication decisions in those categories to please the regulators and enforcers who are watching them.

“The resulting distortions to the platforms’ editorial decision-making constitutes censorship. Any enforcement actions also will be impermissibly intrusive into the editorial practices of social media platforms, putting regulators in the middle of the editorial process and enabling them to second-guess the platforms’ editorial decisions,” Goldman said.

Jonathan Greenblatt attends Urban League Fights for You Rally on Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Women's Rights & Economic Justice in Washington, D.C., on July 20, 2022. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League

The new law was backed by major civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which ran a campaign supporting the legislation’s passage called “Stop Hiding Hate.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League said the law’s enactment was “a victory for internet safety advocates from across not only California, but the nation.”

“From the beginning, [the group] has been insistent that the problem of online hate is too severe, and the consequences are too grave to sit by and do nothing," Greenblatt said.