Gavin Newsom vetoes legislation that critics say would have created a digital surveillance regime

Free-speech activists praised a veto from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom of a law that would have fined social media companies for controversial speech made on their platforms.

The Democrat-controlled state legislature passed Senate Bill 771 in the hope of giving the state the power to punish speech it deemed offensive or hateful. Critics warned that the law would lead to the state infringing on free-speech rights.

‘Our first step should be to determine if, and to what extent, existing civil rights laws are sufficient to address violations perpetrated through algorithms.’

On Tuesday, Newsom said the law was premature in his veto announcement.

“I am returning Senate Bill 771 without my signature. This bill seeks to hold social media platforms liable for algorithms that relay content violating specified California civil rights laws to their users,” the governor wrote.

“I support the author’s goal of ensuring that our nation-leading civil rights laws apply equally both online and offline,” he continued. “I likewise share the author’s concern about the growth of discriminatory threats, violence, and coercive harassment online. I am concerned, however, that this bill is premature. Our first step should be to determine if, and to what extent, existing civil rights laws are sufficient to address violations perpetrated through algorithms. To the extent our laws prove inadequate, they should be bolstered at that time.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression praised the governor’s decision.

“Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 771, a bill that would have had a profound chilling effect over online expression,” reads a statement from FIRE on social media. “We are grateful that the governor chose to protect free speech instead of setting California on the path to a losing battle against the First Amendment and Section 230.”

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Other groups, like the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the bill would have punished speech against Israel while shutting down minority speech.

“SB 771 masquerades as a bill against ‘algorithmic harms’ but in practice it will fine platforms for hosting criticism of Israel while real hate speech flourishes unchecked,” the ADC wrote on social media. “Who gets silenced? Marginalized voices. Palestinians, Black communities, Indigenous activists, immigrants — the very people already under surveillance and suppression online.”

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