The Babylon Bee, a conservative satire website, is suing California over a social-media law that requires periodic reporting about content categories, terms of service and how the platforms deal with hate speech, so-called disinformation and harassment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, hailed the law, which takes effect in January 2024 as a win for transparency, but Bee CEO Seth Dillon says it’s an effort to silence dissenting views.
“California passed an unconstitutional censorship law. We’re suing to stop its enforcement,” Mr. Dillon wrote on Twitter.
The Babylon Bee CEO pointed to Mr. Newsom’s push to ensure that social media is not “weaponized to spread hate and disinformation that threaten our communities and foundational values as a country.”
Mr. Dillon said that sounds a good thing but it’s a dangerous road to take.
“It’s a good thing when people are allowed to speak freely. It’s a bad thing when Big Tech and the government work together to decide what we’re allowed to say. Why? Because they often get it wrong. Even worse, they get it wrong on purpose,” he wrote.
Minds Inc., a social media company, and podcaster Tim Pool joined the lawsuit.
The 31-page complaint says the new law might violate First Amendment free-speech protection and the Fourteenth Amendment, given the measure uses vague terms like “hate speech” and “disinformation.”
“The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits state laws that either do not contain enough specificity and direction for a person of ordinary intelligence to know what is required or do not provide explicit standards,” the lawsuit says.
Mr. Dillon said his site is asking a federal court to block enforcement of the law.
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Newsom’s office for comment on the lawsuit.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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