Elon Musk’s X Corp sued California on Friday over a state law establishing new transparency rules for social media companies, requiring them to publish their policies for policing disinformation, harassment, hate speech and extremism.
X, the social media platform once known as Twitter, said the law known as Assembly Bill 587 violates its free speech rights under the US Constitution’s First Amendment and California’s state constitution.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Sacramento, California, X said the law’s “true intent” was to pressure social media companies into eliminating content the state found objectionable.
By doing so, California is forcing companies to adopt the state’s views on politically charged issues, “a form of compelled speech in and of itself,” X said.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, which enforces state laws, said it will respond to the complaint in court.
AB 587 requires social media companies with at least $100 million of gross annual revenue to issue semiannual reports that describe their content moderation practices, and provide data on the numbers of objectionable posts and how they were addressed.
The law also requires companies to provide copies of their terms of service. Failure to comply risks civil fines of up to $15,000 per violation per day.
