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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to stop social media companies from banning users or removing posts purely on the basis of political opinions – the latest salute from Republicans, who say these tech giants censor conservative users.
The new law requires social media companies with more than 50 million monthly users to disclose their content moderation policies and institute an appeal process. It would also force these social media companies to remove illegal content within 48 hours.
Under state law, users can sue the platforms to get their accounts reinstated, and the Texas Attorney General could sue on behalf of users.
“We will always stand up for free speech in Texas, which is why I am proud to have enacted House Bill 20 to protect First Amendment rights in the Lone Star State,” Abbott said. in a press release. “Social media websites have become our modern public place. They are a place of healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely – but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative views and ideas. This is wrong, and we will not allow it in Texas. ”
The new law would affect businesses such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
It’s the latest Republican effort to take on the social media giants; Florida recently passed a law that would have banned social media platforms from banning political candidates, but a federal judge blocked the law before it’s supposed to take effect.
Some Republicans have claimed for years that social media companies have an anti-Conservative bias, complaints that have escalated after former President Trump was barred from using Twitter and Facebook after his false claims on the The 2020 presidential election led to the Jan.6 assault on Capitol Hill.
Democrats are also trying to challenge social media companies, albeit for different reasons. The White House has pushed social media companies like Facebook work faster to eliminate COVID-19 misinformation.
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