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Tech groups sue Texas over new social media law

NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association claim the law will force platforms to carry objectionable content they would otherwise screen out.

“Allowing HB 20 to take effect will inflict significant harm on Texans by threatening the safety of users, creators, and businesses that use these websites to reach audiences in a family-friendly way,” said Steve DelBianco, president and CEO of NetChoice. “No American should ever be forced to navigate through harmful and offensive images, videos and posts.”

DelBianco said the Texas state government is free to create a digital public town hall website of its own where citizens could post images, video, and messages fully protected by the First Amendment. That, he said, would allow the public free expression without doing so at the expense of private businesses such as the social media giants.

Florida’s law, passed last month, was blocked by a federal judge after NetChoice and CCIA filed a lawsuit against it. Other Republican-led states, such as Utah and North Dakota, are also pushing for laws that would reduce censorship online.