U.S. District Judge Finds that X Corp. — Formerly Known as Twitter — Is Unlikely to Prevail in its Lawsuit Challenging California’s Landmark Social Media Transparency Legislation
- Noah Marty
- Legislative/Communications Assistant
- Noah.Marty@asm.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), author of Assembly Bill (AB) 587, issued the following statement regarding U.S District Judge William B. Shubb’s denial of X Corp.’s motion for a preliminary injunction regarding AB 587:
“I am pleased that the Court denied Elon Musk’s motion and held that he is unlikely to succeed in this lawsuit. As we have repeatedly emphasized, Assembly Bill 587 is a pure transparency measure that simply requires Twitter and other companies to be upfront about if and how they are moderating content. It in no way requires any specific content moderation policies — which is why it passed with strong, bipartisan support. If Twitter has nothing to hide, then they should have no objection to complying with this law.”
AB 587 was first introduced in 2021 but took nearly two years to pass in the face of fierce opposition from major social media companies. The bill ultimately secured bipartisan support and passed the Legislature after an intense grassroots lobbying effort by more than 80 civil rights and civic organizations.