Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill stopping social media from banning politicians

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an anti-Big Tech bill on Monday that would stop social media companies from kicking users off their platforms and prevent online censorship.

The legislation, which the Republican called “Florida’s Big Tech Bill,” would make it illegal to ban state political candidates from Facebook and Twitter and would dole out penalties of $250,000 a day on social media companies for any statewide candidate who is removed from a platform. De-platforming more local candidates would incur a fee of $25,000 a day.

The bill also forces social media giants to give users notice seven days before they are likely to be banned and give them a chance to change their behavior and resolve the issue on the platform. The bill passed the Republican-led Florida state Legislature in April.

James O’Keefe, a conservative activist and the founder of Project Veritas, was behind DeSantis when he announced the social media bill signing on Monday. O’Keefe recently sued Twitter for defamation, claiming that the social media giant falsely accused him of creating fake accounts in order to justify banning him from the platform.

Lawmakers in Texas, Arizona, and North Dakota have also introduced bills that mandate greater transparency regarding content moderation and prevent social media platforms from canceling conservative speech….

(Excerpts from Washington Examiner)