Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into a law a measure that would allow user lawsuits against social media companies such as Facebook or Twitter when they fail "to apply censorship, deplatforming, and shadow banning" consistently.
The new law, which tech allies and civil liberties advocates have criticized as an unconstitutional attack on the companies' ability to moderate their platforms freely, comes as conservatives increasingly charge that tech companies silence rightwing views and voices.
"If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable," DeSantis said in a statement to mark the signing.
The law would also stop companies from deplatforming political candidates, which comes as Facebook weighs whether to maintain the banning of former President Donald Trump.
In addition, the new law would forbid the companies from contracting with a public entity if convicted of violating antitrust laws.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE