The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced its opposition to Senate Bill 771 (Stern), warning that the measure could be weaponized to suppress constitutionally protected speech and disproportionately impact marginalized communities, including Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Californians.
SEE: California Senate Bill 771 (SB 771)
While CAIR-CA supports efforts to combat hate-fueled violence and discrimination online, the organization warns that SB 771’s broad scope, vague definitions, and reliance on flawed data create strong incentives for over-censorship. As written, the bill could pressure social media companies to prematurely remove lawful content, stifling legitimate political advocacy and public discourse.
SB 771 would allow the state to fine social media platforms up to $1 million per post if flagged content is algorithmically amplified, even when that content is lawful, fact-based, and protected by the First Amendment. CAIR-CA warns that this, coupled with vague definitions of “willful” and “reckless” conduct, creates strong incentives for over-censorship.
In a statement, CAIR-CA Legislative and Government Affairs Director Oussama Mokeddem said:
“This bill opens the door for bad actors to disproportionately pressure online corporations into silencing free speech to reduce their financial liability, with no protections for users against those mechanisms. It does nothing to address the actual drivers of anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, and white supremacist violence. Instead, it risks chilling dissenting voices—particularly those advocating for Palestinian human rights—under the guise of combating hate.”
CAIR-CA has shared its concerns directly with Senator Stern’s office, as well as the California Assembly Committee on Appropriations, outlining the bill’s potential to violate constitutional protections, disproportionately harm marginalized communities, and create significant fiscal burdens for California’s court system. These communications have highlighted, in particular, the bill’s citation of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents—which has been widely critiqued as methodologically flawed for conflating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism—and its pairing with the reintroduced federal Stopping Terrorists Online Presence and Holding Accountable Tech Entities (STOP HATE) Act, which could encourage enforcement mechanisms that treat legitimate political speech as hate speech.
“Our policy team has been in active dialogue with the Senator’s staff to advocate for clear guardrails, such as language clarifying that the bill does not compel social media platforms to engage in content-based restrictions, and that it may only be applied when companies knowingly and intentionally target protected classes under California law,” added Mokeddem. “Absent such protections, SB 771 poses an unacceptable threat to free expression, digital freedom, and the right to dissent.”
CAIR-CA calls on members of the Assembly Committee on Appropriations to take a NO position on SB 771.
CAIR-CA stands firmly against all forms of hate and continues to support robust, well-structured efforts to combat bigotry—efforts that include safeguards to prevent abuse and the silencing of marginalized communities.
CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, 714.851.4851, eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California Communications Contact Tasneem Manjra, 916.441.6469, tmanjra@cair.com; CAIR San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam, 760.201.7626, tnizam@cair.com; CAIR San Francisco Bay Area Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, ladam@cair.com