United States of America: Ruling in Lawsuit concerning constitutionality and legal validity of California Assembly Bill No. 587 (X Corp v. Bonta)

On 28 December 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied X Corp.'s motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of California Assembly Bill 587. X Corp. argued that the law, which requires social media companies to post their terms of service and submit reports on content moderation practices, violated the First Amendment and was preempted by federal law under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The court found that the terms of service requirements involved commercial speech and met the necessary legal standards, while the reporting requirements were considered factual and uncontroversial, not unduly burdensome, and reasonably related to a significant government interest. The court also determined that AB 587 was not preempted by Section 230, as it does not impose liability for content moderation itself but only for failures to disclose information as required by the law. Consequently, the court denied X Corp.'s request for an injunction.