Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday prohibiting social media sites from suppressing conservative political standpoints.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill banning social media sites from booting users based on their politics https://t.co/14HxYwlg6g
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 12, 2021
Under the new legislation, Texans will be given equal opportunity to express their political views on various social media outlets.
“In Texas, we will always fight to defend your freedom of speech,” Abbott mentioned in a tweet.
Conservative viewpoints will NOT be censored on social media in Texas.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 10, 2021
Thank you @BriscoeCain & @SenBryanHughes.
In Texas, we will always fight to defend your freedom of speech.#txlege pic.twitter.com/FYfackYODY
House Bill 20 stipulates that users are protected from social media platforms that block them “simply based on their political viewpoints.”
Therefore, Texas residents have the right to use the legal system to get their accounts reactivated if these companies blocked them. The bill targets platforms with more than 50 million monthly users.
Also, it demands them to disclose “content management and moderation policies,” where they are required to establish a “complaint and appeals process for the content they remove, providing a reason for the removal and a review of their decision” in 48 hours.
“It is now law that conservative viewpoints in Texas cannot be banned on social media,” Abbott stated after signing the bill.
The Texas governor pointed out the importance of websites in the technological age. “Social media websites have become our modern-day public square,” he stated.
According to him, social media platforms are meant for public discussions: “They are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely – but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas.”
Abbott strongly claimed that such conduct would not be tolerated in his state. “That is wrong, and we will not allow it in Texas,” he said.
House Bill 20 comes after former President Donald Trump’s banning from Facebook and Twitter following his supporters’ attacks on the U.S. Capitol in January to prevent Joe Biden from taking over the post.
U.S. states such as North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Utah are now considering it for implementation.
Reactions to Texas Gov. Abbott Signing a Bill Prohibiting Social Media Sites from Stifling Users' Political Viewpoints
Great 👍 Just so GREAT 👍👍 Thanks and Firmly Support ‼️💪💪
@Evertbeetho
Great 👍
— Evert Beethoven (@Evertbeetho) September 11, 2021
Just so GREAT 👍👍
Thanks and Firmly Support ‼️💪💪
God bless Texas 🇺🇸
@VesMarinova
God bless Texas 🇺🇸 https://t.co/Chlys4NZzl
— 🇺🇸Didi🇺🇸 (@VesMarinova) September 11, 2021
Dont mess with Texas 👍🤝💪👏
@JoernCarmaker
Dont mess with Texas 👍🤝💪👏 https://t.co/9Ey2Ry0QmW
— Evil B 🟢 (@JoernCarmaker) September 10, 2021
#TexasIsGreat #CowboysNation #GovernorAbbott Texas Jeeping Texans #1 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@Magirly9
#TexasIsGreat #CowboysNation #GovernorAbbott
— @magirly9 (@Magirly9) September 10, 2021
Texas Jeeping Texans #1
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/koKbZr1waN pic.twitter.com/lINZbHrRlS
I agree with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on this.
@Weedyouneednews
I agree with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on this. https://t.co/LhK5IsfRI3
— Weed you need news (@Weedyouneednews) September 12, 2021