Ohio State Representative Al Cutrona (R-OH) declared in a new statement that Big Tech “‘should not have the power to dictate what they deem as acceptable speech, that's exactly why we have the First Amendment and why I'm introducing this legislation.”
Cutrona is yet another conservative politician who has exhibited leadership against Big Tech’s growing tyranny. “State Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) will be introducing legislation that prohibits social media platforms from censoring users when they are expressing themselves unless it is in violation of state or federal law,” the official webpage for Ohio’s House of Representatives proclaimed. “The bill’s purpose is to prevent Big Tech companies from banning, blocking or discriminating against citizens based on ideological beliefs or viewpoints.”
The state representative made clear that Big Tech is too critical to modern life to be treated as a mere service like any other.
“‘With social media being a quintessential form of communication these days, this bill is to ensure people’s Constitutional right to freedom of speech is not infringed on,’” he explained. “As Americans, obviously we are not all going to agree with one another on thoughts and ideas, and that’s okay. But it’s surely not the job of Big Tech employees to choose favorites on what deserves censorship based on ambiguous policies and their personal views.”
The bill included several methods of preventing censorship, requiring transparency and actively punishing Big Tech companies for censorship:
- “Prohibits social media platforms from censoring a user of the platform based upon the ideas they express, unless those statements violate state or federal law; ...
- “Requires that social media platforms publicly disclose accurate information in regards to their content management, data management and business practices. This would include how it curates and targets content to its users, moderates content, and what algorithms or procedures are used to determine what appears when you search on the platform; ...
- “The censored individual can also sue the social media platform to receive declaratory and injunctive relief.”
The Ohio representative is far from alone in his endeavor to reign in Big Tech tyranny. Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has won national renown for proposing legislation against Big Tech censorship.
In Congress, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Open App Markets Act, which would reportedly “set fair, clear, and enforceable rules to protect competition and strengthen consumer protections within the app market,” according to a press release on Blackburn’s website.
Over half of America’s states have proposed bills specifically to take on Big Tech and 40 percent have moved to tackle censorship specifically.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your local representative and demand that Big Tech mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
