Dozens of States Are Jumping on the Social Media Censorship Bandwagon

2022 may be remembered as a turning point for social medium regulation , or possibly more competently , failed social media regulating . ThoughTexasandFloridamanaged to dominate headlines recently for their constitutionally questionable deplatforming law , they ’re far from the only State trying to get originative with managing content on social media political program .

A late Politicoanalysisfound 34 Department of State , many conservativist - leaning but not all , have propose banker’s bill or fade legal philosophy vying to tempt the direction social medium companies handle their exploiter ’ cognitive content . In conservative - led state , the dominating trend here follows the Texas and Florida mildew . States ranging from Ohio to Mississippi are trying to save laws that would prohibit companies from polish off or moderate users ’ content based on their political viewpoint . A fistful of these land are attempt to make those laws a reality by attempting to designate gravid societal media firms as “ common carriers , ” a appointment that would have them see and feel more like telecom .

On the other hand , legislators in Democratically led states like New York and California are attempting to forward-moving legislation that would advance social medium party to take a heavier - handed approach to moderating sure types of content view as harmful . Though the conditional relation are n’t equivalent in core , both strategies have force the care of technical school industry radical like NetChoice and first amendment learner who say the bill could diverge fundamentally from precedent around how tech companies mesh . Some of these proposals , expert say , are almost certainly violations of the first amendment .