Three bills to take on social media censorship shoot for bipartisan support
When it comes to censorship on social media, Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) hopes to find bipartisan ground to stand on. Recently, he introduced three bills which aim to both combat online censorship and provide new avenues for free-speech challenges. “Big tech has long been violating people’s free speech rights through deleting, censoring and shadow-banning because they disagree with what is posted or who is posting it,” said Sortwell. “We expect this kind of suppression in China, but it is disturbing that we have allowed it to occur in America, the Land of the Free.”
The bills cover three areas. One bill, LRB-2090, provides a civil cause for any Wisconsin resident against a social media company for alleged censorship. The bill would allow for Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, local district attorneys and residents to file suits against social media corporations for free speech violations. Then there’s LRB- 3211, which aims to protect the ability of journalistic outlets to publish materials on social media, and gives news outlets cause of action to fight social media censorship. Lastly, LRB-4301 implements a penalty for government officials for conduct in violation of First Amendment principles.
Sortwell reminds fellow Wisconsinites that “the First Amendment was not written to protect popular speech. If something is popular, it doesn’t need protection.” He stresses “the reason our...
Read Full Story: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/09/17/sortwell-hopes-social-media-bills-have-uniting-principles/
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