Texas is on the verge of passing a new law that would crack down on social media companies Republicans say are censoring conservative speech.
September 2,2021 Texas is on the verge of passing a new law that would crack down on social media companies Republicans say are censoring conservative speech. The GOP-controlled state Senate passed the bill Tuesday night. If it heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has publicly backed the bill, he’s expected to sign it. The new law, passed in the final days of the second special session called by Abbott, would allow any Texas resident banned from Facebook, Twitter or Google’s YouTube for their political views to sue the companies. The state attorney general also would be able to sue on behalf of a user or a group of users. It is similar to a Florida law that was blocked by a federal judge one day before it was set to take effect. Trade groups representing the technology industry have pledged to challenge it as unconstitutional. « By ignoring the First Amendment, the Texas Legislature has chosen to abandon its own conservative and constitutional values in order to put the government in control of speech online, » said Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice. Dozens of states are considering legislation that targets how social media platforms regulate speech, though few have gotten this far. Such bills resonate with conservatives who believe their First Amendment rights are violated when posts are labeled or removed or when they are banned for violating the policies of social media platforms. Former President Donald Trump’s suspensions from the major platforms spurred the new bills. The First Amendment protects people from censorship by the federal government, not from content moderation decisions by private companies. Social media companies say they don’t target conservatives, only harmful speech that violates their rules. Texas House Democrats warned during a hearing last week that the new law would stop social media companies from taking down harmful content. They offered amendments that would have allowed the removal of posts promoting Holocaust denial, terrorism and vaccine disinformation, but were defeated.
