DirecTV's decision to drop One America News from its lineup is "an unwise business decision" that masks "viewpoint discrimination with neutral corporate-speak," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and five other Republican state attorneys general said in a letter Thursday to DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow. Not reversing course means millions of subscriber cancellations, as President Donald "Trump and other leading figures have already called for," said Paxton. Louisiana's Jeff Landry, Mississippi's Lynn Fitch, Missouri's Eric Schmitt, Montana's Austin Knudsen and South Carolina's Alan Wilson co-signed the letter. DirecTV didn't comment Friday.

Internet industry groups condemned a Georgia social media bill Wednesday. The Senate voted 33-21 Tuesday to pass SB-393, which is modeled after Texas and Florida laws that were enjoined by federal district courts (see 2202150068). If enacted, the Georgia measure “would force social media to host state-run media like RT while denying their ability to remove other awful but lawful content,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo in a statement. “The First Amendment protects us all, including private businesses, from being forced to host the state-run content that this legislation would compel them to.” Computer & Communications Industry Association State Policy Director Alyssa Doom said “in addition to being unconstitutional, the Georgia legislation would act as a barrier for digital services trying to keep Georgians safe online.” An Ohio House committee held a hearing on the similar HB-441 Tuesday (see 2203080071). A Tennessee Senate committee Tuesday delayed until the following Tuesday two similar bills (SB-2380 and SB-2161). “We urge legislatures across the country to reject these bills, which conflict with the First Amendment by forcing private companies to carry speech,” said Doom. The Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee plans to mull a social media bill (SB-214) Thursday at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Ohio’s content moderation bill “conflicts with the First Amendment,” the Computer & Communications Industry Association said Tuesday as the state’s House Civil Justice Committee considered legislation at a hearing. Introduced by Republican Reps. Scott Wiggam and Al Cutrona, HB-441 would allow social media users to sue platforms for viewpoint discrimination, similar to laws passed in Texas and Florida. It lists deplatforming and other restrictions to user interaction as potential forms of censorship. There was no discussion on the bill in its fifth hearing Tuesday. The committee “has been repeatedly cautioned that its content moderation bill conflicts with the First Amendment by forcing private companies to carry speech,” said CCIA State Policy Director Alyssa Doom in an emailed statement.

Oral argument in the tech industry’s lawsuit against a Texas social media law will help the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals understand how online platforms interact with the First Amendment and whether private companies have the right to “discriminate against speakers,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed Wednesday in docket 21-51178. Platforms are incorrect that the First Amendment “gives them a right to discriminate freely against viewpoints, without any sunlight,” Paxton argued. It would “strain credulity to say Section 230 protects Platforms when they censor speakers based on race,” he wrote. “Likewise here, Section 230 does not protect them for censoring based on speaker viewpoint.” He also disagreed with claims the new law violates the First Amendment: Laws requiring entities to neutrally host speakers don’t implicate the First Amendment because such laws regulate platform conduct, not speech, he said.

A Washington state bill to establish a blockchain study group cleared the House Community and Economic Development committee at a livestreamed Tuesday meeting. The committee voted 11-2 for SB-5544 with an amendment changing aspects of the proposed work group, including membership and stated purposes. Authors of the House and Senate versions of the bill proposed the changes, said Chair Cindy Ryu (D). Voting no, Rep. Vicki Kraft (R) said she’s worried about the state getting too far ahead of the rest of the country, with the proposed work group possibly leading to state laws that will be federally preempted. Rep. Rob Chase (R), the other no vote, said, “I don’t like voting for something I don’t really understand.” SB-5544 earlier passed the Senate but will need to return due to the House changes. Also, the committee heard testimony on SB-5715 to update the state broadband definition to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, from 25/3 Mbps now. "Some of us would want it to be even faster than that," Ryu said: "Baby steps first." The committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on SB-5715, which unanimously passed the Senate last week (see 2202160019).

Texas is investigating TikTok’s “potential facilitation of human trafficking and child privacy violations,” Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Friday. He issued two civil investigative demands. TikTok “may be complicit in child exploitation, sex trafficking, human trafficking, drug smuggling and other unimaginable horrors,” he said. The CIDs seek information on TikTok’s content moderation policies and practices, its handling of law enforcement requests and user reporting procedures for illegal activity. The company didn’t comment Friday.

An Arizona House panel cleared an app store bill to allow developers to deal directly with customers and avoid app store fees from Apple and Google. The Arizona House Commerce Committee voted 5-3 Tuesday for HB-2200 with an amendment that converted the land mapping bill into an app store bill like HB-2662, which had last week failed in the Judiciary Committee. “We hope the full Arizona House swiftly approves the bill, and that similar bills that have been introduced in other states such as Illinois, Florida, and New York are passed into law,” said Pat Garofalo, American Economic Liberties Project director-state and local policy. The same committee voted 8-0 for HB-2678 to establish a state broadband office.

Georgia senators grilled tech industry officials opposing a social media bill that's like the Texas and Florida laws that were enjoined by federal district courts. At a livestreamed hearing Thursday, the Georgia Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee mulled SB-393 to treat large social websites as common carriers and require anti-discrimination of content. Chairman Bill Cowsert (R) said the bill would be back on the agenda for the committee’s Tuesday meeting. The bill would stop social media from banning “lawful but awful content” like bullying, racism and hate speech, testified Servando Esparza, TechNet executive director-Texas and the Southeast. Cowsert asked about concerns about “canceling certain voices” due to having a “certain political bent.” Users feel platforms are violating their free speech, he said. “If you say something that the censors at Facebook don't like, then you get silenced.” SB-393 infringes on private businesses’ First Amendment rights, replied Esparza. Sen. John Kennedy (R) asked if platforms had standards for what can and can’t be on platforms. Guidelines “evolve constantly,” as they must, said the TechNet official: For example, nobody could have foreseen kids daring each other to eat Tide Pods. Conservatives and Republicans both do well on social media, said NetChoice Policy Counsel Chris Marchese. For a long time, conservatives didn’t get a fair shot on traditional media, but then former President Donald Trump did very well on social media, he said. Cowsert returned that Trump got kicked off. The Constitution protects businesses deciding what speech to allow, said Marchese. Sen. John Albers (R) complained that he lost his law firm job after Twitter allowed him to be wrongly “canceled” when some groups made false claims about him about a year ago. Marchese said he was sorry to hear that, but it was the First Amendment, not Twitter, that allowed it to happen.

A New Hampshire panel punted on an RF safety bill that would require 5G telecom antennas to be placed at least 1,640 feet from residentially zoned areas, parks, schools, playgrounds, hospitals, nursing homes and day care centers. HB-1644, previewed by sponsor Rep. Patrick Abrami (D) this summer (see 2108230043), also would create a registry for anyone experiencing radiation exposure symptoms. At a livestreamed Monday meeting, the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee voted 17-4 to study the issue more rather than adopt HB-1644 now. Testimony clearly showed people suffered from various physical and neurological issues, and "there may be a correlation” to wireless emissions, but “the committee was uncertain as to the causation of such ailments,” said Vice Chairman Douglas Thomas (R). More study could lead to a compromise next session that will get more support, he said. Rep. Lucius Parshall (D), one of the no votes, said he would rather temporarily ban 5G deployment while the study happens. The state lacks authority to impose a moratorium, said Rep. Jacqueline Cali-Pitts (D), supporting more study. Thomas’ subcommittee voted 3-1 to recommend the interim study, at a meeting earlier Monday. “We've heard testimony pretty strongly on both sides of the fence, and it's very complex,” he said before that vote. “Unfortunately, this is an early bill. We would have liked to have been able to put together an amendment to make it more palatable ... but time won't allow us.” HB-1644 could “jeopardize” state emergency communications, Mark Doyle, New Hampshire Department of Safety Emergency Services and Communications director, testified between subcommittee and full committee votes. It could negatively affect public safety radios and 911 services because people are making more emergency calls from cellphones, he said. HB-1644 was based on a November 2020 report by Abrami and others on a state 5G commission that said the FCC could be ignoring wireless RF dangers due to industry influence (see 2011020046).

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed legislation to expand digital media production tax credits under a state program established in 2018. S-4094/A-6070 “will ensure that our state remains a top destination for some of our country’s most significant film and TV productions,” Murphy said Wednesday. This increases the digital media content production tax credit to 35% of qualified digital media content production expenses purchased through vendors in certain counties including Atlantic and Camden, and 30% in other parts of the state, Murphy’s office said: It triples the cumulative annual limitation on digital media content production tax credits to $30 million. Starting in FY 2025, the bill allows $100 million more in tax credits for New Jersey film-lease partners from tax credits under other incentive programs, said the governor’s office. New Jersey’s program “grows stronger with new enhancements” that will create new jobs and boost investment in the state, MPA CEO Charles Rivkin said Thursday.