OKLAHOMA CITY - In response to today’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting advancing SB 383, which explicitly prohibits a social media site from moderating hate speech by allowing users of a platform to sue a page owner for censoring or deleting posts relating to political or religious speech, the ACLU of Oklahoma issues the following statement:
The following is attributable to Nicole McAfee, Director of Policy and Advocacy:
“As dedicated advocates of the free speech rights of all Oklahomans, the ACLU of Oklahoma recognizes the power of speech to have profound consequences. These consequences can be harmful and traumatizing. The world witnessed the harms of online hate speech play out during the attempted insurrection at the federal Capitol complex on January 6. SB 383 and similar efforts should not be granted further hearings at the Oklahoma legislature. To do so, is to align our state with the people who attempted to overthrow the government in the name of white supremacy.”
“Moreover, SB 383 is an attempted exercise of power the Oklahoma Legislature does not have. It is preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which prohibits any state law that would hold platforms liable for the speech of their users. Legislation like SB 383, pushed by Chris Sevier, has been introduced across the country, and it is an embarrassment that this bill would not only make an agenda but continue to advance through the legislative process. SB 383 is an overreach of government power and a shame to our state.”
