Abbott warned that in America, a “dangerous movement” to silence religious and conservative viewpoints exists. The Senate Bill 12 proposed by Sen. Hughes will therefore halt wrongful online censorship of Texans; Abbott also pointed out that Texas is standing up against Facebook and Twitter’s micromanagement of the “flow of information.”
Potential for Texans to sue big tech companies
In the event that Texans still experience online censorship due to their viewpoints, Lone Star State residents will be able to sue platforms like Twitter and Facebook, in addition to getting back on these platforms.
The Texas governor then noted the importance of “healthy public debate” and “freedom of speech” in America. Likewise, Sen. Hughes explained that just as phone companies can’t cancel customers’ service because of their politics, social media sites are “common carriers” and therefore barred from discrimination.
Conservatives have largely rallied behind Governor Abbott’s decision to sign this legislation into law. The Texas governor has also earned praise from Republicans for lifting the statewide mask mandate.
