In the thicket of bad legislation churned out this year by Texas lawmakers, it’s easy for HB 20 to get overlooked.
While we’re concentrating on voter suppression, the practical banning of abortion, permitless carry of firearms and the mandate that teachers must deliver patriotic, noncritical assessments of U.S. history, we can lose sight of the way our elected leaders shredded the Constitution just to make an example of social-media companies.
The Freedom from Online Censorship Act, signed into law last Thursday by Gov. Greg Abbott, prevents digital companies from banning or restricting a user based on that person’s “viewpoint” or the way the viewpoint is expressed.
“Freedom of speech is under attack in Texas,” Abbott said at last week’s signing ceremony. “There is a dangerous movement by some social-media companies to silence conservative ideas and values.”
Abbott said the law “fights back against Big Tech political censorship” and allows Texans who have been “wrongly de-platformed or restricted to be able to file suit to get back on the site.”
Just so there’s no misunderstanding, the passage of this bill is purely and nakedly a message move to the GOP base, a theatrical display of retaliation against Twitter and Facebook for banning former President Donald Trump. It’s also part of Abbott’s ongoing attempt to keep up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed a similar bill into law back in May.
Hours before the Florida law was set to take effect, a federal judge blocked...
Read Full Story: https://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/gilbert_garcia/article/Garcia-Texas-lawmakers-HB20-social-media-16459415.php
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