On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis reported that the state government would recognize new digital rights to better protect Floridians from Big Tech’s surveillance and censorship.
While talking at a news conference in West Palm Beach, DeSantis stated that Floridians would be better protected from Big Tech harm and overreaches thanks to the new Digital Bill of Rights that would entrench rights for persons who utilize specific internet platforms.
At a Wednesday event, DeSantis stated his intention to safeguard Floridians’ freedom to engage in face-to-face interactions without being monitored by Big Tech. Consumers can grant Big Tech permission to collect this data to tailor advertisements to individual users.
The Republican governor continued, saying they will also defend the freedom to participate in online forums without arbitrary restriction freely.
He advocates for the right to express oneself freely.
For users to make informed decisions about whether or not to continue using a particular search engine, they need to see how that engine manipulates its results and know that they are doing so.
He added that he wants the ability to shield all employees from harm on the most popular and widely used platforms, specifically Google and Facebook. They profit enormously from this information but need users’ permission to use or sell it.
Last but not least, the Digital Bill of Rights was created to shield kids from the dangers they can encounter online.
DeSantis elaborated on these points, saying that Florida would no longer permit tech corporations to eavesdrop on citizens’ private conversations by listening for certain words and phrases.
DeSantis differentiated between the federal government’s wiretapping of such devices and the legal requirement of a warrant. However, private businesses are free to do so if their product is in demand.
He went on to claim that there would be a barrier in place that forbade this without the user’s consent and that it would be illegal to track a person’s whereabouts in real-time, collect biometric data, or otherwise identify them using their cell phone.
The new Digital Bill of Rights, DeSantis said, is part of a more extensive campaign by his administration against Big Tech and the power it has to censor people and restrict the information it promotes, or the content users view on its platforms.
DeSantis reminded the audience that a bill that would give Floridians the right to sue discriminatory tech corporations was recently introduced in the state’s legislature and is presently being reviewed by the courts.
Florida acted as a pioneer by passing legislation to safeguard against censorship by Big Tech.
The governor of Florida has said that social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, which bill themselves as public forums, actually engage in heavy-handed censorship of conservative voices and accounts.
The Republicans stated that regulations and conditions are in place, but those rules are biased against political opponents. Conservatives face various discriminatory measures, including outright bans, de-platforming, and shadow banning.
He said there are also rules in Florida protecting consumers and against deceptive business practices. The state attorney general of Florida now has the authority to investigate and take action against Big Tech misconduct. Those running for office are shielded from harm so that no one can be forced off the platform.
The United States Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on this legislation, which is currently before the courts.
They can create whatever regulations they want if it’s an open platform, but if they’re not being enforced consistently based on opinion, that’s fraud on the public’s part. There should be some mechanism for people to be held accountable for that.
After the press conference, DeSantis tweeted a summary of the Digital Bill of Rights. Residents of Florida should be able to have private conversations without fear of Big Tech eavesdropping on them, as well as the freedom to express themselves freely online, access information about how search engines may be manipulating results, exercise control over their data, and keep their children safe from online danger.