Posted on 09/26/2025 9:16:31 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
A controversial bill awaiting California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature would slap steep new penalties on social media platforms that fail to censor content deemed in violation of the state’s civil rights laws.
SB 771, which passed both chambers of the state legislature and was sent to Newsom’s desk on Monday, imposes fines of up to $1,000,000 on social media platforms that fail to remove content that violates the state’s civil rights laws. Critics warn the measure will lead to sweeping censorship of lawful speech.
Lawmakers defended SB 771 by citing “rising incidents of hate-motivated harm,” including “hate crimes involving anti-immigrant slurs.” The bill’s text also references data from the Human Rights Campaign and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), showing a 400% rise in “anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation and harmful rhetoric on major social media platforms.”
“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.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
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Since Free Republic is based in California, this may be a big concern.
If Newsolini has any aspirations of running for president (and he definitely does), he won’t sign this.
DOA with any honest judge in the land. Our legislature here in Calif has gone off the rails.
BOOM! And there it is. A Make-work project for lawyers. Talk about Lawfare.
Wait till Jimmy Kimmel hears about this! He'll cry enough crocodile tears to fill a thimble.
I suppose there are District Court judges this would get past, but even the 9th Circuit wouldn’t abide it. I’m betting Newsom doesnt sign it
Uh oh, didn’t even think of that. It’s aimed straight at us.
I think he’d be stupid to sign it. Especially if he thinks he’s going to run for president. Problem with Gavin is he’s quite stupid and unhinged from reality. So, we’ll see.
FuCalifornia.
1st Amendment? Never heard of it.
Hasn’t it already been established that the government forcing companies to do the government’s censoring for them is a violation of the 1st amendment, same as the government doing it directly?
Can we sue each time his monologue is posted to YouTube or Twitter?
-PJ
One Word:
FreeDominion(dot)com
Once FR’s Sister site... until the government got involved.
“anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation and harmful rhetoric on major social media platforms.”
That’s already problematical. There really is no such thing. What they want to quash is truth.
Censorship by me, but not by thee
just wondering if California can issue a warrant for my FR or other S.M. posts. Because if newscum signs the bill, ill be " Wanted waaan-ted, dead or a-live". . .
And California used to be so nice. 40 years or more ago..
We are no doubt in the 4th spiritual great awakening. The other three had to face restrictions against different types of Christian speech. It’s another sign that it’s time to get excited for Jesus.
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