TAKING ACTION: Big Tech Bill Passes FL Senate, Still Lacks Recommended Fixes

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has won national renown for proposing legislation against Big Tech censorship. His bill was a great start, but conservative influencers claimed that it needed some key amendments in order to be most effective.

“In one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top priorities of the legislative session, the Florida Senate on Monday passed a measure to crack down on social-media companies that remove users from their platforms,” the South Florida Sun Sentinel (SF Sun Sentinel) reported April 26. “The bill, in part, would bar social-media companies from removing political candidates from the companies’ platforms. Companies that violate the prohibition could face fines of $100,000 a day for statewide candidates and $10,000 a day for other candidates,” the SF Sun Sentinel illustrated. “The proposal also would require social-media companies to publish standards about issues such as blocking users and apply the standards consistently.”

Florida state Senator Ray Rodrigues, (R-FL) sponsored the bill and reportedly commented that “big tech is not a free market.” He further said, “the state has a role in regulating such companies,” the SF Sun Sentinel summarized. State Senator Kelli Stargel, (R-FL) , also reportedly explained how new legislation was critical to adjust to the current state of Big Tech’s power: “When you get to a situation where a business has a monopoly on a message, and the ability to direct a message through that monopoly, that is where government kind of sometimes comes in and steps in,” she noted. “I think this bill is trying to strike that right balance, by allowing free speech, and at the same time trying to make sure the business is not arbitrarily setting up that speech and blocking out people that they don’t want in.”

One prominent conservative leader warned that the Big Tech bill would need refinement before it becomes law.

Conservative firebrand and former congressional candidate Laura Loomer was famously censored by multiple Big Tech companies. She posted a blog on her website: “CALL TO ACTION: Tell Governor DeSantis To Pass The FL Big Tech Bill WITH Amendments.” She explained that while DeSantis and his allies have good intentions, their strategy needed work:

“We URGE Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature to adopt critical amendments to ensure that Big Tech is held accountable if they target and deplatform candidates, elected officials, and Florida residents who support conservative values and free speech.  The language must also include penalties for payment processors, banks, all social media sites, and tech companies, telecommunication companies, and internet service providers that discriminate against Floridians and censor them on the basis of their political affiliation, so that we can send a strong message to Big Tech.”

Conservatives are under attack! Call Governor DeSantis’s legislative affairs office at (850) 488-5000 and urge them to support critical amendments to make sure the bill addresses all the ways Big Tech censors conservatives, including financial blacklisting. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.