Bill makes it illegal for social media companies to ban Texans over political viewpoints - Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Texas Tribune

Texas is about to make it illegal for big social media companies to ban users based on their political viewpoints.

The Texas House voted 78-42 on Thursday to back an amended version of House Bill 20, which the Senate passed in a 17-14 vote Tuesday. The legislation, now on its way to the governor’s desk, would require social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and YouTube — those with more than 50 million monthly users in the U.S. — to produce regular reports of removed content, create a complaint system and disclose their content regulation procedures.

Similar legislation was considered during the regular legislative session earlier this year and was championed by Gov. Greg Abbott, who said that social media companies were part of a dangerous movement to “silence conservative ideas [and] religious beliefs.”

Proponents of HB 20 say it would prohibit social media companies’ ability to silence viewpoints on their platforms and allow users who were wrongly censored to seek recourse.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, who authored HB 20, says such companies are best classified as common carriers, like phone companies and cable providers, that are barred by government regulators from discriminating against customers.

“At this point, a small handful of social media sites drive the national narrative and have massive influence over the progress and developments of medicine and science, social justice movements, election outcomes and public thought,” Cain said...



Read Full Story: https://www.caller.com/story/news/2021/09/03/bill-outlaws-social-media-banning-over-political-viewpoints/5713280001/

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