Gazetteer: X court win guts California’s modest attempt to curb hate speech, disinformation

“Light-touch laws like the one at issue in this case are the slightest steps in the right direction,” said Tom McBrien, a lawyer at the non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, which filed a brief in favor of upholding the law. “If even they cannot withstand First Amendment scrutiny, it’s hard to imagine how the current lack of platform transparency could be remedied,” he said. 

… McBrien, the lawyer at EPIC, said that through their collection and use of personal information, social media platforms possess unparalleled influence in shaping our understanding of society. Yet, despite their power, too little is known about how the companies operate, he said, leaving users and lawmakers in the dark when trying to figure out which platforms to use and how best to regulate them. 

The ruling is “a blow to internet users’ and society’s ability to understand how online platforms are operating,” he said. 

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