TechDirt slams state Sen. Steve Padilla’s ‘unconstitutional’ social media authentication bill

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TECHDIRT GOES AFTER LAWMAKER FOR ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ BILL

Via Andrew Sheeler

A writer for the blog TechDirt blasted State Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Coachella, over his bill, SB 1228, which would require the holders of influential social media accounts to share personally identifying information to confirm their identity with the platform.

SB 1228 would require anyone whose account has more than 25,000 followers over the lifetime of the account, or who are sharing more than 1,000 pieces of AI-generated content, to verify their name, phone number and email address with the platform.

Accounts with more than 100,000 followers or that post more than 5,000 pieces of AI-generated content would be required to provide the platforms with a government-issued ID.

“Bad actors and foreign bots now have the ability to create fake videos and images and spread lies to millions at the touch of a button. We need to ensure our content platforms protect against the kind of malicious interference that we know is possible. Verifying the identities of accounts with large followings allows us to weed out those that seek to corrupt our information stream,” Padilla said in a statement.

Padilla’s office noted in the statement that users may continue to remain anonymous, but they would be labeled “identity unauthenticated.”

TechDirt journalist Mike Masnick called the bill unconstitutional and argued that it would violate the First Amendment’s protections of most anonymous speech, especially when it comes to elections, as laid out in the Supreme Court case of McIntyre v. Ohio.

“It’s difficult to know what Padilla is thinking, especially given his blatant admission that this bill seeks to target speech regarding elections. There are exceptions to the right to be anonymous, but they are limited to pretty specific scenarios,” Masnick wrote.

Masnick pointed out that the requirement that follower counts be monitored over the lifetime of the accounts means that social media companies would be required to track a large number of posts and could turn into a “privacy nightmare.”

The bill would require people to hand personally identifying information that could place them in danger, Masnick went on to write.

“No offense, Senator Padilla, but I’m taking the state of California to court for violating my rights long before I ever hand my driver’s license over to Elon Musk at your demand,” he wrote.

Digital privacy has been the subject of many a court battle, including when former California Rep. Devin Nunes sued a parody cow account. Under SB 1228, the holder of that account would have been required to hand over a government ID to Twitter, thus potentially making it available to Nunes as he sought to unmask the account holder.

Reached for comment, Padilla said in a statement to The Bee that “while Senate Bill 1228 allows users to verify their identity to platforms, their anonymity is still protected, because it is the user’s choice to disclose the information. A user is free to remain anonymous; their account would just be labeled as ‘unauthenticated.’”

Padilla went on to say that the bill does not require platforms to authenticate all users, just those with large followings who choose to be authenticated.

“We take user safety and the protection of their information most seriously, which is why the bill does not require user identification, only proof of compliance. These voluntary disclosures certainly would not be unconstitutional, despite this blog’s protestations to the contrary,” he said.

SPEAKING OF IDENTITY VERIFICATION ONLINE...

No, this California senator will not advocate for “online dating validation kiosks.”

In keeping with his April Fools Day tradition, Sen. Josh Newman, D, Fullerton, sent out a press release about his proposed online dating reforms.

“I make it a point to stay as in touch with my constituents as possible,” Newman wrote in the release, “and so many of them, especially working professionals, have apprised me, often in wrenching terms, about just how hard it has become to trust the information they find on dating websites. I’ve heard countless stories about someone swiping right with great optimism, only to be surprised or worse upon finally meeting. People looking for a fulfilling match in the Golden State deserve better.”

Newman proposed the implementation of California Online Dating Validation Kiosks (Cal-ODVK), to be established at DMV offices across the state, that will verify a person’s “height, weight, and age.”

“For those whose schedules may not allow them to visit a DMV office during operating hours, additional Cal-ODVK kiosks will be located in participating Kaiser Permanente health clinics, as well as in the tire department at participating Costco outlets.”

Last year, Newman proposed legislation on April 1 that would “help Californians save money on frequently lost household items.”

WHO ARE THE HEALTHIEST CALIFORNIANS?

Via David Lightman

Sacramento is a healthy place to live.

Fresno and Modesto, a little less so.

Those are among the findings of a new WalletHub study released Monday. It ranks the healthiest and unhealthiest major U.S. cities. San Francisco tops the healthiest list, and San Diego and Irvine are in the top 10. Last is Brownsville, Texas at 182.

Sacramento ranks 35th, while Modesto is 103rd and Fresno is 139th. Fontana in San Bernardino County, at 157, is the least healthy California city on the list.

WalletHub, a financial services firm, used 41 indicators to rank the cities. Included were the cost of and access to health care, fruit and vegetable consumption, weight and the share of physically active adults.

“The best cities are the ones that provide the greatest access to high-quality health care, green spaces, recreation centers, and healthy food,” said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe.

Sacramento did well in the food and green space rankings, but sank in the health care ranking. Fresno and Modesto also scored low on health care.

The health care ranking was based on a detailed list of metrics, including the premature death rate, percentage of adults reporting 14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month and 14 or more physically unhealthy days in that period, family doctors and dentists per capita, medical costs, weight and vaccinations and other preventive care. Details of each metric were not provided for individual cities.

The food category weighs factors such as farmers markets, healthy restaurants, dietitians and nutritionists and gourmet specialty food stores per capita, share of residents who say they eat healthy, searches for healthy food and access to healthy food in lower income communities.

ANGELIQUE ASHBY TAPS NEW CHIEF OF STAFF

Freshman Sen. Angelique Ashby, who represents the Sacramento area in Senate District 8, named Cassidy Denny her new Chief of Staff after Katie Hanzlik, Vice Chair of Sac Dems and Ashby’s former campaign staffer, stepped down last month.

“Today I am excited to announce that (Denny) will be taking the reigns as leader of the Senate District 8 team,” Ashby wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Denny was previously Ashby’s Legislative Director, and started her career in the Capitol in the Senate Fellowship program, where she worked under Sen. Scott Wiener, D, San Francisco.

She grew up in Sacramento, and earned a degree from Colorado State University, where she played Division 1 volleyball.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Get ready for $20 burgers and fries served up by robots. Governor Newsom, Democrat lawmakers, and special interests are completely responsible for the mass layoffs of fast food workers and collapsing businesses in California.”

-- Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones R, San Diego

Best of The Bee:

• Sacramento Catholic Diocese files for bankruptcy reorganization in wake of abuse lawsuits, via Sam Stanton.

• See new Indigenous-themed mural at Sacramento’s recently renamed Miwok Middle School, via Lezlie Sterling.

• California Sen. Laphonza Butler boasts ‘win’ for crime victims fund despite less money for the state, via David Lightman.

• California fast food minimum wage just jumped to $20 an hour. Who actually gets it?’ via Angela Rodriguez.