A controversial bill that will censor disinformation” and “misinformation” is about to be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom after the California measure was passed by both chambers of the state’s democrat legislature
Assembly bill 771, authored by democrat assemblywoman Gail Pellerin, will regulate social media platforms by fining them $1 million for any content social media platforms fail to remove that has been identified as “materially deceptive” by the state.
The legislation targets content that relates to the LGBTQ community, or content deemed in violation of the state’s civil rights laws – which include gender ideology.
Critics say this will lead to massive censorship of speech, likely more restrictive than was seen during the Biden administration.
The bill impacts social media companies with more than one million users like X, Facebook and Instagram.
Any user would be able to report content, after which the platforms would be required to review the content and label it as “materially deceptive” within 72 hours or remove it entirely.
In addition, the companies would have to submit quarterly reports to the state’s attorney general, detailing the number of reports received, content removed or labeled, and enforcement actions taken.
Non-compliance could result in civil penalties, with fines of $1,000,000 per violation for platforms.
The bill’s Democrat supporters argue censoring speech is necessary to protect democracy.
The bill has strong backing from the George Soros-funded CCDH, which has repeatedly advocated for the censorship of conservative speech
