California's top legal dog, Attorney General Rob Bonta, is advocating for Uncle Sam's right to yap with social media giants about keeping the internet safe for John Q. Public. Leading a 23-state legal posse, Bonta hopped onto a multistate amicus brief lobbed at the Supreme Court in Murthy v. Missouri. According to a statement on the California Attorney General's website, these legal beagles are all about flipping the Fifth Circuit's decision that put a gag order on federal chinwags with social media on moderation matters.
"Social media is a daily source for news and information across the country," Bonta barked. The Fifth Circuit, with their decision, basically hit the mute button on the fed's ability to chit-chat with the likes of Facebook and Twitter about filtering the no-no stuff out. Bonta said, "The decision which blocks virtually any outreach to social media platforms about content moderation by numerous federal government agencies and officials is extraordinarily sweeping and threatens efforts to address threats to public health and safety." His voice echoes concerns for the digital street's well-being.
Let's face it, talking turkey with social media mogul-types has always been a power move for the states when it's about fencing out the web's bad elements. The AGs threw their brief into the ring, and in it, they reckon the Fifth Circuit made boo-boo-treating chats about online boogeymen like extreme violence, cyber playground bullies, and con artists as some sort of shakedowns. They've been in the ring, engaging with the tech bigwigs to block the virtual blows from harmful content.
The gang of 23 tells it straight in their brief, calling the Fifth Circuit's move a major foul. They claim it misses the mark, mixing up what's kosher in friendly persuasion versus full-court press coercion when the government shoots the breeze with the social media kingpins. Chief among the defendants in the case of this tangled web, they argue, is the First Amendment being roped into this mess. Bonta and the crew are worried that this move could seriously crimp the government's style when dealing with threats to public safety through the digital grapevine.
