Washington – State legislatures introduced over 200 pieces of legislation regulating online speech this session, according to the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which unveiled its 2023 content moderation state legislative landscape Wednesday. State governments continued to introduce bills despite the Texas and Florida content moderation bills being reviewed by the Supreme Court due to lower courts finding they violate the First Amendment.
The following comment may be attributed to CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender:
“We hope CCIA’s 2023 content moderation landscape will be a helpful resource to many and can assist those concerned with government attempts to regulate how digital services moderate online speech. Key takeaways from this report conclude that many legislators made the measured decision to pause the advancement of legislation that bans “censorship” until the Supreme Court makes its decision. However, many new types of proposals regulating online speech were introduced in 2023. Although content moderation likely won’t be the only tech policy topic on state legislative agendas, we anticipate this will likely continue to be a main focus for legislators in 2024.”
For additional background information, please see our blog post.