Florida Gov. DeSantis signs new bill to keep Big Tech in check

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Monday that looks to crack down on attacks on freedom of speech by big tech companies such as Facebook and Amazon.

The bill will aim to make it illegal for tech companies to remove candidates for office from their social media platforms.

When pressed by a reporter on whether he enacted this bill as a "favor" to deplatformed President Donald Trump, DeSantis asserted that the bill was for everyone and said:

"When you deplatform the President of the United States but you let Ayatollah Khamenei talk about killing Jews, that is wrong."

DeSantis called big tech sites the modern day equivalent of the "public square," saying that "big tech oligarchs" and "Silicon Valley" are "acting acting as a council of censors; they cancel people when mobs come after somebody. They will pull them down."

"What we've been seeing across the US is an effort to silence, intimidate, and wipe out dissenting voices by the leftist media and big corporations. Today, by signing SB 7072 into law, Florida is taking back the virtual public square as a place where information and ideas can flow freely," Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez said on Monday.

Those who break the bill would face fines of up to $250,000 per-day for the crime of deplatforming candidates for elected office. Fines of $25,000 would be faced for lower level offenses.

The Florida House voted 77-38 in favor of the bill, the Senate, 23-17, reports WFLA.