Texas Enacts Social Media Law; NetChoice, CCIA Explore Options
Industry groups that sued Florida for its social media law said Friday they're mulling next steps in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a similar law Thursday. “We’re exploring our options,” emailed a NetChoice spokesperson. The group had said…
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a lawsuit was possible; see our report here. The Computer and Communications Industry Association “is exploring all legal options to ensure industry has the necessary tools to protect Internet users from malicious actors online,” its spokesperson wrote. The Internet Association, which didn’t sue Florida but filed a brief supporting CCIA and NetChoice’s challenge, declined to comment. Thursday, NetChoice, CCIA and IA condemned the law as unconstitutional. Texas Democrats and industry tried to stop the bill to prohibit larger platforms from blocking, deplatforming or otherwise discriminating against users based on viewpoint or location (see 2109030048). The law is about protecting free speech, Abbott said. Social websites “are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely,” he said, “but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas." TechNet’s Texas Executive Director Servando Esparza countered Friday that the law “recklessly forces companies to leave objectionable content in the public eye or otherwise face huge liability risks, and it limits how email service providers protect users form an influx of spam emails.”