DIMA Letter to Hawai’i Legislature: HB2357

Dear Chair and Members of the Legislature:

On behalf of the Digital Media Association (DIMA), which represents leading music streaming services operating nationwide and serving millions of consumers in Hawaiʻi, we respectfully submit this letter in strong opposition to HB2357 in the 2026 legislative session before the Hawaii Legislature.

HB2357 represents a sweeping and constitutionally suspect restraint on lawful expressive content. As drafted, the measure is extraordinarily broad in scope and would impose government restrictions on protected speech without a clear, narrowly tailored justification. The First Amendment sharply limits the government’s ability to regulate lawful expression, particularly when the regulation is content-based. Courts have repeatedly held that such laws must satisfy strict scrutiny — a standard this bill is unlikely to meet.

Fundamentally, decisions about what lawful content to access belong to consumers and families — not the government. Adults have the constitutional right to access protected speech, and parents retain the authority to determine what is appropriate for their children. HB2357 substitutes a legislative judgment for individual choice and market-based solutions that already provide consumers with robust tools to manage content preferences.

In addition to its constitutional infirmities, HB2357 would operate as a substantial restraint on interstate commerce and digital trade. DIMA members distribute content nationwide through services that rely on uniform compliance standards. A state-specific and expansive content restriction would create significant compliance burdens, disrupt established distribution systems, and potentially require services to alter offerings in Hawaiʻi alone. The practical effect would be to chill lawful content distribution and undermine Hawaii’s participation in the modern digital economy.

Notably, HB2357 attempts to regulate a category of perceived harm that is neither clearly defined nor demonstrably established. Legislating broad prohibitions in response to an undefined or speculative concern risks unintended consequences, including suppression of lawful, artistic, and socially valuable expression. Policymaking in emerging technological contexts requires careful, evidence-based deliberation — not sweeping prohibitions premised on uncertainty.

To illustrate the overbreadth of this approach, one might imagine a law enacted in 1981 barring record stores from carrying albums that incorporated electronic instrumentation or sampling. Such a measure, driven by discomfort with new creative technologies, would have stifled entire genres of music before they were fully understood. HB2357 risks making a comparable error: attempting to prohibit or constrain evolving forms of digital expression based on unfamiliarity rather than demonstrated harm.

DIMA and its member companies share the Legislature’s interest in protecting consumers and promoting responsible innovation. We remain committed to constructive engagement and to solutions that respect constitutional boundaries while empowering individuals with meaningful choice.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Legislature to reject HB2357.

Sincerely,
Graham Davies
President and CEO
DIMA