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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey took a unique step this week to combat social media censorship.

Bailey issued a rule Tuesday under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the first of its kind, that would require major platforms to allow users to select third-party content moderators, rather than relying on the platform’s own algorithm.

“Big Tech oligarchs have manipulated the content Missourians see online and silenced voices they don’t like. That ends now,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement. “With this rule, Missouri becomes the first state in America to take real, enforceable action against corporate censorship. I’m using every tool to ensure Missourians — not Silicon Valley — control what they see on social media.”

Under the rule, platforms are required to present users with a “choice screen” when they sign up and after every six months, eliminate pre-selected defaults and allow third-party moderators to access their platforms. The rule does not prevent platforms from blocking content like child exploitation or illegal threats, according to a press release.

The process for finalizing a rule takes around 180 days, which the Missouri Attorney General’s Office (AGO) told the DCNF should give them enough time to prepare, given that third-party moderation services already exist.

“he large social media companies are sophisticated actors who have considerable expertise in the subject matter,” the office told the DCNF. “However, if such companies file comments during the public comment period justifying the need for additional time, the AGO would take these concerns into account.”


The estimated cost for the four major tech platforms impacted by the rule would be $41.9 million during the initial year and about $12 million for each following year, according to a fact sheet.

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Bailey’s office believes the rule will stand up to legal scrutiny. While the Supreme Court rejected Florida and Texas laws limiting platforms’ ability to censor disfavored content last year in Moody v. NetChoice, it left room for states to enforce competition laws to protect the marketplace of ideas.

“A large and ever growing amount of speech occurs on social media platforms and nearly all such speech is subject to control by a handful of powerful actors,” a Missouri AGO rulemaking memo states. “The Supreme Court has made clear that ‘it is critically important to have a well-functioning sphere of expression, in which citizens have access to information from many source’  because ‘hat is the whole project of the First Amendment.’”

The office recognized that “pushing back on large-scale censorship has historically spawned litigation.”

“If this rule is challenged in court, we are ready to vigorously defend it,” the Missouri AGO told the DCNF.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring all federal employees and officers from engaging in conduct that “would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen,” such as pressuring social media platforms to censor content as White House officials did during the Biden administration. In April, the State Department shut down the Global Engagement Center (GEC) over “free speech” concerns.

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