A.G. Gancarski
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried criticized this week the Governor’s priority piece of legislation, the “Transparency in Technology” Act, as “disingenuous,” “knee-jerk” and “not real policy.”
On Wednesday night, Gov. Ron DeSantis had his say, defending the policy as very real indeed, and relevant to the interests of “run of the mill Floridians” besides.
He defended the bill in a friendly forum: during the Fox News Channel’s Ingraham Angle.
“Yeah, no, The Florida election. This is something that we do. We have our own election code and if you were to host a party for a candidate that would be considered some type of contribution. So why should Big Tech be able to totally deplatform somebody or suppress their message to try to benefit someone else and have that not count,” the Governor said, reprising claims that Facebook, Google, and the rest can game election narratives for left-of-center candidates.
“And then you have the run of the mill Floridians. Small businesses: they’re looking at what happened to Parler, what’s happened to other people who have been canceled? Can Big Tech just shut down their access, their payment processing, their email, all this stuff, and I don’t think this is something five or 10 years ago we’d thought was possible,” DeSantis said. “I think these protections are warranted and I think most Floridians will appreciate having them.”
Fried criticized the legislation in a question and answer session at a Tallahassee press conference.
“I believe that where the Governor and the Republican leadership is today is more a knee-jerk reaction and for politicking and not real policy,” Fried said Tuesday. “We need to be looking at the policy of the tech companies.”
The DeSantis-backed legislation, to be fast-tracked in the House and Senate, includes provisions that would levy $100,000 daily fines to social media companies for “deplatforming” candidates for office, and a mechanism for creating a “cause of action” pathway for legal action, either from the Attorney General or private citizens under the guise of deceptive and unfair practices.
14 comments
trump lost
February 4, 2021 at 8:00 am
Welcome to the new republican party…..
Sonja Fitch
February 4, 2021 at 8:17 am
If Duffus Desantis said it on Fox News IT IS A LIE ! Duffus Desantis is a damn loser! Duffus Desantis does not have the ability to be honest. Duffus Desantis is just another goptrump death cult sociopath!
tjb
February 4, 2021 at 9:05 am
Can we keep things simple —Just cancel Ron Desantis. Private companies should have the right to shut down access to their services. I don’t want a totalitarian dictator and government to tell me how to run my business if I am not breaking the law. Also, penalizing social media companies for “deplatforming” candidates for office is a weak argument. Look like this would be the beginning of state sponsor censorship that you see in a communist county.
I still wonder if Ron has issues with strong and intelligent women like Nikki. That is what ED told me.
Charlotte Greenbarg
February 4, 2021 at 9:13 am
Ah, the far left mouth frothers busy today! 🤦♀️
Yep
February 4, 2021 at 10:00 am
If far-right politicians would like a platform where their lies can be spewed without any interference, they can start their own media company.
Don’t tell private businesses how to operate. It is unamerican.
TylerWoodby
February 4, 2021 at 10:06 am
I must ask you TJB, if “Private companies should have the right to shut down access to their services” then that bakery that got shut down because they did not want to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple had the right to say no. Do you agree?
Anyone else is free to answer as well.
Tjb
February 4, 2021 at 12:43 pm
Tyler, there are laws against discrimination. That is the difference.
milemarker17
February 4, 2021 at 3:10 pm
As many have observed, we have the right to free speech but we don’t have the right to falsely yell “fire” in a crowded theater. What Trump did — and who is naive enough to not believe what DeSantis is doing isn’t tied to Trump? — was exactly that, and in ways dangerous for our democracy, for federal elected officials, and for a great many Americans, particularly those engaged in peaceful protest. The social media companies and other media should have every right to turn off the spigot.
Rob Green
February 4, 2021 at 4:31 pm
At this point, anyone that can’t see that DeAthSentence is out for himself and not the citizens of Florida needs their heads examined.
Richard Spruill
February 4, 2021 at 5:07 pm
“That bakery” did not get “shut down”. Order a cake, if you want. http://masterpiececakes.com/
TylerWoodby
February 5, 2021 at 7:08 am
Discrimination would have been not doing business with them at all, however, the shop owner was more then willing to make anything for them other then a wedding cake. There was no discrimination.
Unrelated note, I am glad this site notified me about replies to my comment like I asked, Not.
TylerWoodby
February 5, 2021 at 7:09 am
Good. I am glad they are still open, last I heard they were having major financial problems due to those stupid lawsuits.
Palmer Tom
February 5, 2021 at 8:51 am
Give me a list of political candidates who have been deplatformed, then we can have a discussion. Based on what I know, this is a lot of hot air about nothing much.
Ron Ogden
February 5, 2021 at 12:23 pm
One of you Demos needs to get the message to Nikki that Charlie Crist is going to be the candidate. In other words, M&M and the rest of the leadership have “deplatformed” her ambitions. She can shut up now.
Comments are closed.