Amidst a seemingly endless Big Tech deplatforming spree, Florida is the first state in the nation to take a stand.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new law Monday, giving the state power to penalize companies when they ban political candidates.
DeSantis celebrated the law as a blow against “Silicon Valley elites,” who he said aim to censor differing political views, NBC News reports.
“What we’ve been seeing across the U.S. is an effort to silence, intimidate and wipe out dissenting voices by the leftist media and big corporations,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The Sunshine State’s new law says that social media companies may not “permanently delete or ban” a candidate running for office. Suspensions of up to 14 days are permitted, and a service can remove individual posts that violate terms of service.
If a platform’s actions violate the law, the state’s elections commission may impose a whopping $250,000 fine per day for statewide candidates and $25,000 a day for other candidates.
Additionally, individuals in the state can sue for violations of the law, such as failure by a company to be transparent about its terms of service.
Companies are excluded from the law if they operate “a theme park or entertainment complex,” a portion that was added to protect Disney’s streaming service.
