NetChoice, the group suing on behalf of internet giants, has asked a federal judge to put the law on hold as their lawsuit moves through the courts. NetChoice hopes a federal judge will stop the social media censorship law before its July 1st effective date.
“This is government-compelled speech,” said NetChoice Vice President and General Council Carl Szabo.
Szabo argued tech companies would immediately lose advertisers and users if they are stripped of the ability to police their platforms. “Look at some of the boycotts you saw in the past when there was abhorrent content running alongside advertisers’ products.”
The issue at the heart of the case is whether tech companies’ first amendment rights are infringed by the new state law.
“Government can’t come in and tell your network what type of news to cover, what types of stories to promote,” said Szabo. “And likewise it can’t come in and tell private businesses like Facebook, YouTube, Etsy or Reddit the type of content that they have to host.”