Governor Greg Abbott calls for a bill to prevent Twitter and Facebook from banning Texans

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Denouncing “a dangerous move” to “silence conservative ideas [and] religious beliefs, ”Governor Greg Abbott on Friday praised a bill that aims to crack down on perceived censorship of conservative voices by social media companies.

“They are controlling the flow of information – and sometimes denying the flow of information,” the Republican governor told a news conference in Tyler. “And they are in a position to choose which views are allowed to be presented. Texas is taking a stand against the political censorship of big technologies. We will not allow this in the Lone Star State. “

Abbott was joined by state senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who is sponsoring the measure and chairs the Senate’s powerful State Affairs Committee. Hughes said the bill would give Texans the right to restore their accounts when they are “mistreated”.

“We have a handful of billionaires in San Francisco who run these technology companies,” said Hughes. “This does not make them the guardians of freedom of expression. But this is what they want to be. “

The Senate Bill 12 would prohibit social media companies – including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – from blocking, banning, demonetizing or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their view or location in Texas.

It applies to anyone who lives, does business or has social media followers in Texas. According to the proposal, a person who feels that he or she has been unfairly prevented from entering the platform can file a lawsuit in court. The Texas attorney general can also file a complaint on behalf of a person. If a social media company fails to comply, the bill stipulates that the court may impose “sufficient daily penalties to guarantee immediate compliance”.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who chairs the Texas Senate, identified the bill as one of his 31 priorities for this legislative session. Hughes introduced a similar bill in 2019 that won Senate approval, but died on a committee in the state chamber.

Facebook and Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.

TechNet, an industry association, said that removing content restrictions could pave the way for children to be exposed to “harmful content from malicious users online”.

“This bill not only recklessly encourages companies to leave objectionable content in the public eye, but it also creates a culture that supports frivolous lawsuits against American companies,” said Servando Esparza, group executive director in Texas and the Southwest, in an announcement.

Hughes said his legislation would apply only to political and religious discourse.

“We are not talking about lewd and lewd obscenity or anything like that,” said Hughes.

The rhetoric about silencing conservatives increased after the 2020 election, when platforms like Facebook and Twitter removed former President Donald Trump’s account for inciting violence during the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Republican politicians have long targeted the tech giants – accusing them of an anti-conservative bias and of silencing freedom of expression, although actions to ban members were often in response to credible evidence that communications were inciting violence.

Experts point out that the First Amendment – which protects freedom of expression – only prohibits government censorship. This leaves private companies to choose their own protocols.

“From the First Amendment’s point of view, social media companies are private actors and are not subject to the First Amendment,” Scot Powe, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, told The Texas Tribune in January. “Therefore, it is a matter of constitutional law. They can be as biased as they want in whatever direction they choose. “

Twitter in January eliminated more than 70,000 accounts linked to the dangerous group of conspiracy theorists QAnon by linking the movement to the attack on the United States Capitol. Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who often defends violent and sometimes racist views, was kicked out of Facebook, Twitter and Spotify, among others. And Twitter in February definitively expelled MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a ferocious Trump ally who continually spread false allegations about electoral fraud.

Closer to home, state deputy Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, had his Twitter account temporarily suspended in September 2019 when he tweeted “My AR is ready for you” for then-Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke.

Cain’s tweet was in response to O’Rourke’s calls for a mandatory arms buyback program.

Twitter in September 2020 targeted Democratic candidate Elizabeth Hernandez, who was challenging U.S. Republican MP Kevin Brady for his seat in the U.S. House. The platform forced it to remove a tweet that violated its rules against voter suppression because it encouraged people to tell Trump supporters to vote on the wrong day.

Technology companies are also facing scrutiny from Congress – on both sides of the corridor. Democrats and Republicans in recent weeks have decided to reform or repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Decency in Communications Act. The provision protects technology companies from liability for posts by users of content on their platforms.

At a Congressional hearing last October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers that “Democrats often say that we don’t remove enough content, and Republicans often say that we remove a lot.”

“The fact that both sides criticize us does not mean that we are getting it right, but it does mean that there are real disagreements about where the limits of online speech should be,” he said.

Abbott argued on Friday that the clause does not protect companies from lawsuits that can be filed under SB 12. Instead, he said he “bypasses” Section 230.

“We are making sure that these companies will be forced to comply with Senator Hughes ‘bill to ensure that the Texans’ conservative speech is not canceled,” said Abbott.

Abbott’s office filed an application with the United States Supreme Court, arguing that states have a right to protect freedom of expression, Hughes said.

President Joe Biden and his predecessor have expressed support for the Section 230 review. Trump has called for its complete repeal, as have several lawmakers in his party.

Meanwhile, three US Democratic senators have introduced a bill that would revise the provision. According to the SAFE TECH Act, users can sue social media companies for content on their platforms that is threatening, offensive, discriminatory or otherwise abusive.

The state’s bill comes at a time when Texas politicians, including Abbott, are trying to entice tech companies to move from California’s expensive Silicon Valley technology center to the state. Elon Musk, the CEO of electric car company Tesla Motors, recently announced that he was moving to the state. The software company Oracle said in December that it was moving its headquarters from California to Austin.

SB 12 is scheduled for its first hearing before the State Affairs Committee on Monday.

Disclosure: Facebook and the University of Texas have financially supported The Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization that is financed in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in Tribune journalism. Find a complete list of them here.