Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced a number of legislative and regulatory proposals aimed at combating the excessive power that the big tech giants wield over the flow of information on the internet.
“They have so much garbage and filth on that platform all the time," DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday. "They did not censor people when they were using those platforms for the rioting that occurred over the summer, so their excuse doesn’t hold water. … Today, they may come after someone that thinks like me. Tomorrow, they may come after someone that thinks like you.”
The new regulations proposed by the governor include
Mandatory opt-outs from big tech’s content filters, a solution to tech censorship.
A private right of action for Floridian citizens against tech companies that violate this condition.
Fines of $100,000 per day levied on tech companies that suspend candidates for elected office in Florida from their platforms.
Daily fines for any tech company “that uses their content and user-related algorithms to suppress or prioritize the access of any content related to a political candidate or cause on the ballot.”
Greater transparency requirements.
Disclosure requirements enforced by Florida’s election authorities for tech companies that favor one candidate over another.
Power for the Florida attorney general to bring cases against tech companies that violate these conditions under the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act.
At the press conference, DeSantis also accused the big tech companies of "clear view point discrimination." He highlighted the censorship of President Trump and the deplatforming of free speech social network Parler.
“The core issue here is this: are consumers going to have the choice to consume the information they choose, or are oligarchs in Silicon Valley going to make those choices for us? DeSantis declared. "No group of people should exercise such power, especially not tech billionaires in Northern California.”
The governor also joked that he'd "rather be governed by the first 50 names in the Tallahassee phone book than the CEOs of big tech companies."