Two California Democratic lawmakers are targeting pandemic disinformation they say has received a broad audience and misplaced credibility through social media.
FILE - Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento speaks at a news conference in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2022. Two California Democratic lawmakers took aim Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, at pandemic disinformation they said has been artificially given a broad audience and misplaced credibility through social media platforms, as they rejected concerns that their legislation might carry free speech or business privacy considerations. Sen.
Assemblyman Evan Low said his bill would label doctors' promoting of misinformation or disinformation about COVID-19 to the public as unprofessional conduct that could draw disciplinary action from the California Medical Board. Disinformation is generally considered to be intentional or deliberate falsehoods, while misinformation can be inadvertent.
“Ultimately, we shouldn’t have to wait for whistleblowers like the Facebook whistleblower for us to understand how online platforms and social media have been negatively influencing our lives, including our ability to stop this pandemic,” he said. Among other things, in order to impose discipline, Low's bill would require the medical board to determine that a doctor's disinformation prompted a patient to decline COVID-19 prevention or treatment that was not justified by the patient's medical history or condition.
“This isn't a ... a policing of free speech,” Sawyer said. “This is a call for protecting the public against dangerous misinformation, which patients are parroting back to us in our emergency departments every day.
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