Jess Miers 🦝 Profile picture
Jan 9 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Just in: the TRO order in NetChoice v. Yost (the Ohio Parental Notification lawsuit).

This order should serve as another massive warning to policymakers aiming to enact similar legislation this year. We have standing and we will show up every time.
drive.google.com/file/d/1vMcQdQ…
BTW NetChoice had to get a TRO before the preliminary injunction hearing because the Ohio law is set to go into effect next week.

@NetChoice I love y'all's explanation here in particular: Image
Strong start -- the Court acknowledges NetChoice's Constitutional standing and the compliance burdens associated with the Act.

The real highlight though is the Court's acknowledgement of NetChoice's standing to bring claims on behalf of both its members AND Ohioan minors. Image
Regarding irreparable harm, the Court notes that there is no way that NetChoice's members could recoup the costs incurred to comply with the law should it be struck down at a later point. Image
Regarding vagueness, the Court was not at all impressed with the State's attempt to clarify who the law applies to, calling attention to the loose 11 factor list set out by the Act.

The Court is similarly unimpressed w/the vague exception for "established" media entities.
Image
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Note to policymakers, attempting to only target social media companies you don't like is absolutely screwing you in court EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Without more, this Court already sees a path forward for NetChoice given the Act's blatant constitutional defects. Image
A bombshell from the Court re: rights of minors to access speech. The Court pithily cites SCOTUS, determining that the law is clear: content-based regulations seeking to target minors are absolutely subject to strict scrutiny.

Congrats kiddos -- you have First Amendment rights! Image
The Court concludes with this fantastic quote:

"Foreclosing minors under sixteen from accessing all content on websites that the Act purports to cover, absent affirmative parental consent, is a breathtakingly blunt instrument for reducing social media's harm to children." 🔥 Image
With that, it continues to bewilder me as to why states are still pushing these constitutionally defective, hamfisted, anti-information, anti-youth, pro-censorship bills.

Your colleagues are badly LOSING this fight. At some point it's got to be embarrassing...right?
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More from @jess_miers

Jan 5
BREAKING: @NetChoice just filed suit in Ohio challenging the "Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act."

drive.google.com/file/d/15DHiQe…
Like many of the other mandatory age verification laws we've seen proposed throughout the U.S. last year, Ohio's would require websites to secure verifiable parental consent before allowing anyone under 16 to create accounts / access services.
NetChoice alleges three constitutional defects with Ohio's Law.

First, the law restricts minors from accessing legally protected speech. Recall the Supreme Court had thoroughly rejected laws that curb minor access to speech. Image
Read 8 tweets
Jan 4
Cal Superior Court just rejected #Section230 in Neville v. Snap Inc., a lawsuit involving users who overdosed on drugs allegedly purchased via Snap.

The Court attributed Snap's role in the deaths to chat app's design permitting ephemeral communications.
nbcnews.com/tech/social-me…
I will share the opinion once I have it.

Keep in mind that this is a state court holding, similar to the order we saw in the California social media addiction lawsuits, so it has limited reach (for now).
With that said, it's a problematic trend that has the potential to reach other privacy-centric designs such as encrypted communication apps.

It seems the state of California should be promoting privacy by design, not thwarting it. But at this point, it's par for the course.
Read 7 tweets
Dec 14, 2023
California just filed their opening brief in NetChoice v. Bonta in the Ninth Circuit, appealing the preliminary injunction enjoining the California Age Appropriate Design Code. 🧵

acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc…
We at @ProgressChamber along w/@ipjustice and @LGBTTech previously filed an amicus brief at the District Court highlighting the speech chilling aspects of the AADC.

ipjustice.org/wp-content/upl…
The opening brief starts by denouncing viewpoint / content based censorship arguments, reiterating that AADC is purely a data protection law.

If this were true, why does the law still require "consistent" content moderation? Image
Read 36 tweets
Dec 8, 2023
Yesterday, @ProgressChamber and 11 organizations filed an amicus brief in support of @NetChoice and @ccianet urging SCOTUS to overturn the anti-moderation laws in Texas and Florida.

Special thanks to my incredible colleagues and the fabulous @HoganLovells team for the assist!🧵
Before I get into the details, some additional thank you's are in order:

S/O @MWBrennanDC @JRyanThomp and their superstar team for all the work that went into polishing and filing the brief!

S/O @KirstenDSouza for convening this amazing turnout of groups!
You can read the full brief here. This thread serves as a recap.
progresschamber.org/wp-content/upl…
Read 22 tweets
Dec 6, 2023
🚨 It's rumored that Sen. Hawley will soon attempt to hotline his bill adding an exception to #Section230 for "Generative Artificial Intelligence."

Putting aside how you may feel about Gen AI, this bill reaches far beyond it. 🧵
hawley.senate.gov/sites/default/…
The bill adds a carve out to Section 230's statutory exceptions for any civil suit or criminal prosecution where the underlying claim has to do with Generative AI. Image
The bill then defines "Generative Artificial Intelligence" broadly (and circularly) as any AI system capable of generating content based on user input.

Notice that it says prompts *OR* other forms of data provided by a person. Image
Read 27 tweets
Dec 5, 2023
I'm at UCLA today for the California Senate Judiciary information hearing on "The Importance Journalism in the Digital Age" (i.e. the notorious CJPA). I'll be live tweeting from @ProgressChamber starting around 1pm PT.

Expect the snark(ier) commentary @ my personal account. 😌
Unreal. California judiciary suggesting that websites broadly are not a credible hub for news.

If that's the case, then perhaps websites shouldn't be hosts for news content. Worked great in Canada right?

Read 26 tweets

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