SACRAMENTO, California — A California plan to fine large social media companies that intentionally amplify violent or extremist content is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk after clearing the state Senate on Thursday, potentially teeing up another legal battle with Big Tech over free speech rights.
Why it matters: Democratic state Sen. Henry Stern’s SB 771 comes after Meta and X relaxed content moderation and rolled back fact-checking amid criticism from President Donald Trump and Republican allies that such policies have dampened conservative voices. Critics have argued this allowed violent, hateful and extremist content targeting minorities and other vulnerable groups to flourish on social media.
Stern’s bill threatens civil penalties of up to $1 million when a large social media company knowingly promotes posts to its users that violate California’s existing civil rights laws, and $500,000 if it recklessly promotes such content. Those fines double if the person harmed is a minor.
The passage also comes in the wake of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. TikTok, Meta and other sites have said they are taking down or restricting posts containing a highly graphic video of Kirk’s assassination, which has been widely shared on social media. However, it’s unlikely Stern’s bill would limit similar content unless it violated civil rights laws.
What happened: Senate lawmakers approved Stern’s bill 26-7, with most Democrats in support and most Republicans against.
Background: The measure faces fierce opposition from trade groups like TechNet and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represent tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon. The groups argue Stern’s bill wields legal penalties to force companies into suppressing certain speech online and violates the First Amendment.
However, Stern argues his measure sidesteps First Amendment challenges by holding companies liable only when their algorithms feed violent or extremist content to social media users, without explicitly ordering such content be removed from social media sites.
What’s next: Newsom has until Oct. 13 to sign or veto Stern’s bill.