The DeSantis dissent, cont’d

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is an important guy in more ways than one. As John notes in this nearby post, DeSantis seeks to impose statutory constraints on Big Tech/social media in support of neutral free speech principles. Below is the full video of DeSantis’s press conference announcing the initiative.

Looking around online for the details, I see that the Miami Herald reports:

The proposed bill, which is still being drafted, asks the Florida Legislature to impose penalties for social media companies whose algorithms are perceived to favor one candidate over another. It builds on SB 520, filed by state Sen. Danny Burgess, that would require the platforms to give a 30-day notice to a user whose account has been disabled or suspended and explain why the user was punished.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribue adds this:

DeSantis said legislation he’d support also would allow $100,000 daily fines to be levied against a company that removes a political candidate from its platform during an election campaign. Any favorable support a candidate receives from a media company in getting a campaign message out also should be reported as a political contribution, the governor said.

He also would allow people to sue social media firms if they’re de-platformed or otherwise punished, opt out of some online algorithms and authorize Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to sue companies under the state’s unfair and deceptive trade practices law for punishing individuals for content they post.

The video embedded in the tweet at the bottom extracts the highlight of the press conference. Although John included it in his post, it bears repetition in case you might have missed it.

More to come.

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