October 17, 2022
On September 13, 2022, California governor Newsom signed AB 587 (the “Social Media Law”) into law, requiring social media companies to publicly post terms of service that address hate speech, disinformation, harassment, and extremism policies. The Social Media Law further requires social media companies to report data on enforcement of such policies to the California Attorney General on a biannual basis. Upon signing the bill, California’s governor Newsom asserted that, “Californians deserve to know how [social media] platforms are impacting [California’s] public discourse, and this action brings much-needed transparency and accountability to the policies that shape the social media content [Californians] consume every day.