Elon Musk’s X Corp. is suing the state of California over AB 587, a state bill requiring social media platforms to report to the state attorney general, semiannually, how they’re tackling moderation of certain categories of speech. The complaint alleges that the bill violates federal and state free speech laws because it “compels companies like X Corp. to engage in speech against their will,” as they’re forced to settle on definitions for “politically-charged” issues like hate speech or racism.X Corp.’s complaint explains that it’s “difficult to reliably define” hate speech, misinformation, political interference, and other content categories. It adds that defining them is “often fraught with political bias” because there’s no accepted consensus within the public sphere about what the terms mean. X Corp. says that in defining those things, it’s being compelled to take a position on them.The suit alleges that AB 587 is intended to make social media companies “‘eliminate’ certain constitutionally-protected content” that the state thinks is “problematic.” Governor Gavin Newsom’s office promoted it as a “nation-leading social media transparency” measure when he signed it into law in September last year. Laws specifying how social media companies handle moderation have been created in both Texas and Florida
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