While well-intentioned, HB1025 seems sloppy and could have terrible ramifications for liberty. If it passed, the bill would have made it a “misdemeanor to impede, provoke, or harass a law enforcement officer.”
“When an interactive computer service provider removes or restricts access to content and its actions do not meet the criteria of subparagraph (c)(2)(A), it is engaged in editorial conduct. It is the policy of the United States that such a provider should properly lose the limited liability shield of subparagraph “
Unfortunately, in a great many cities and towns, these reporters and journalists became the target of coordinated efforts by police to restrict their ability to effectively report on the events in their locales.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled on multiple occasions that state laws prohibiting the ownership, display, or distribution of anything deemed ‘inappropriate’ by state politicians do NOT violate the 1st amendment are are totally acceptable laws.