A bill in the US state of Florida (feign surprise) aims to fine social networks that ban politicians from their platforms, as they did Twitter e Facebook recently, for example. Proposed in February of this year, just a few weeks after the terrorist attacks on the Capitol, SB 7072 It was approved in the (local) Senate, passed through the Florida House of Representatives and now returns to the Senate to observe some changes made.
Among the changes is an increase in the fines that social networks will be subject to if they are enforced. From the original $10 per day for banning a politician and $100 if the banned politician is running for office, House lawmakers increased the fines to $25 and $250, respectively. After being passed again by the Senate, the bill will be sent to Florida Governor (and Trump supporter) Ron DeSantis for signature.
Not by chance, DeSantis was precisely the author of the proposal of law at the beginning of the year, amidst the numerous cases of violent behavior on social media on the eve of Joe Biden's inauguration and the account ban former Republican President Donald Trump's social media accounts.
Shadowban also in sight
The new law allows platforms to temporarily suspend politicians’ accounts, but only for up to 14 days. Any ban lasting more than 60 days, according to the proposed legislation, would result in the “offending” media being fined. “Shadowbans,” a deliberate action that a social network takes to limit or eliminate the exposure of a user (or the content posted by a user) on the platform, are also targeted by the proposal.
Although SB 7072 comes after social media banned the former president for inciting protesters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Republican lawmakers say the legislation has nothing to do with Trump. They claim the bill is intended to protect Floridians' right to free speech.
Meanwhile, Democratic politicians in Florida call the bill a “political agenda that feeds a political base” and criticize the government’s wrongful interference in imposing a speech on private companies. NetChoice, a trade group of Internet companies that promotes free speech on the web, testified against SB 7072 last month, arguing that private entities should have the right to decide what is best for users, without interference.
Protected Disney Plus and “Zuckerland”
Interestingly, the proposal of lei The bill to fine social media sites that ban politicians also contains a very specific exemption for any “information service, system, Internet search engine, or access software provider operated by a company that owns and operates a theme park or major entertainment complex.” Republican state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia said the exemption was included so that the Disney Plus streaming service would not be affected. Disney World, which is located in Orlando, Florida, Florida, brings significant tax revenue to the state.
Some lawmakers say the bill is hypocritical. One Democratic lawmaker asked whether Facebook would be exempt from the law if it “purchased a theme park” in the state. In response, Republican Ingoglia said that if Facebook “purchased a theme park and called it Zuckerland, which meets the definition of a theme park under Florida statute, then yes.”
Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. The Verge e BBC
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