"But such efforts could face significant legal and enforcement hurdles, primarily regarding free speech restrictions, says Ryan Calo, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Law and co-director of the university's Tech Policy Lab.
Forcing an account to prove it isn't run by a bot could require someone to come forward and claim it, violating the person's generally protected right to remain anonymous, Calo says. The California bill also would apply to bots seeking to influence an election vote – messaging that can be difficult to differentiate from protected political speech, he says.
But speech protections differ for accounts spreading false or controversial information and those promoting products for sale. Bots that are run by manufacturers or distributors but that present themselves as real people might already violate Federal Trade Commission rules on deceptive advertising, Calo says.
"Unfortunately, these proposals are not narrowly tailored enough, so they wind up sweeping in both vaccine-deniers and also commercial promoters," he says."
- Date Published:07/24/2018
- Original Publication:U.S. News & World Report