Monday, May 31, 2021

Right-wing whiners celebrate (unconstitutional) Florida bill against Big Tech "censorship"

 As you've no doubt heard by now, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a Big Tech "censorship" bill into law on May 24, 2021, boasting that it provides, at long last, a defense against Silicon Valley banning conservatives from social media. At least in Florida. From the Orlando Sentinel:

The law would slap daily fines of $100,000 on Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and Amazon for each statewide political candidate removed from their platforms, and $10,000 a day for other candidates.

Other users must be notified when they’re banned or censored, including when a warning or other notice of false or disputed information is attached to their posts. Users also have the ability to sue companies for violating the law.

A provision of the bill, however, exempts companies that own a theme park, such as Walt Disney Co., which runs Disney+, a streaming service.

Since theme parks are such big business in Florida, the exemption for companies that own them is understandable from a strictly capitalistic perspective, but not from a perspective that has anything to do with free speech or moral principles or any of the other factors that contemporary republicans like to posture about. But even from a capitalistic perspective it's nonsensical in light of the fact that it will probably sabotage efforts by local governments to woo tech firms to Florida. Oops.

Here is
a link to a page that provides links to everything you could possibly want to know about the history of Senate Bill 7072 (which apparently began life, appropriately enough, on April Fool's Day). Here's a link to a PDF of the text of the bill.

Over the past few years I've written numerous blog posts about the rantings and ravings of right-wing nuts who whine that they're being censored because of their "conservatism" -- f'rinstance, Scamworld hucksters like cancer quack/right-wing fanatic/predator
Leonard Coldwell; lunatic rabble-rousers like Alex Jones or Mike "The Health Ranger" Adams; politicians like California's Devin Nunes, or the bastard children of Scamworld and politix such as Donald Trump and Junior.

All of these folks have spent a great deal of time snowflaking about being censored and persecuted and even death-threated because they're bold and fearless "truth tellers" and because the entire social media universe is in a conspiracy against "conservative voices." It's a given that if you're a republican or self-styled conservative these daze, you have a persecution complex that's bigger than Trump's butt in a pair of tennis shorts.

So it's no surprise that in the lead-up to the signing into law of the Florida bill, right-wing republicans from across the country were engaged in their usual moaning and pearl-clutching about being "censored" on tyrannical social media platforms.
On May 6, 2021, one of my favorite bloggers and Facebook posters, Jim Wright, mused on the utter hypocrisy of the repubs' complaints.

Right Wing congresswoman Elise Stefanik [New York] is mad. Mad! Raging mad. Because her communications director was (briefly) suspended from Twitter.

"Republicans are united in fighting back against Big Tech’s tyranny?"

Something has to be done about this tyranny ... of an automated system briefly flagging an obscure functionary with 24 followers and then restoring the account a few hours later -- like pretty much every poor proletarian who's ever used social media.

Give me unrestricted Twitter or give me death!

Republicans are united in fighting against this tyranny!

Republicans. Yes, Republicans are united against the tyranny of big ... business?

Really?

The same 256 congressional Republicans who VOTED AGAINST NET NEUTRALITY and DELIBERATELY gave the very same big tech companies the power to decide who could and could not access the internet?

THOSE Republicans?

Are THOSE the Republicans united against Big Tech's tyranny?

The same "tyranny" they very specifically GAVE those very same companies?

The VERY SAME REPUBLICANS who are "on the march" currently passing laws in a multiple states making freedom of speech and the right to protest illegal in direct violation of the 1st Amendment?

THOSE REPUBLICANS?

Are those the republicans we're talking about here? The VERY SAME REPUBLICANS led by Ron DeSantis who just just passed draconian anti-voting laws in Florida this very morning and barred the press from access to the signing?

Is THAT one of the Republicans we're talking about? The VERY SAME REPUBLICANS who handed Big Tech billionaires a massive tax giveaway? And who rewarded the very same companies they're now complaining about with massive tax breaks? The same Republicans who said those companies were PEOPLE with more rights than actual people? The VERY SAME REPUBLICANS who side with billionaires and corporations and banks over ACTUAL AMERICAN CITIZENS every fucking day?

Are those the Republicans we're talking about?

I mean, godDAMN! Tell me more about these Republicans who are fighting Big Tech, standing up for the little guy, the average citizen.

Let's hear about THOSE Republicans.

Man, I love THAT fucking fairy tale.

That's about the size of it.

But hypocrisy hasn't stopped right-wing nutcakes from celebrating the Florida bill as a win. And some apparently can't wait to start suing those big tech companies, since the law allows individuals to take their grievances to court.

Well, I hate to rain on anyone's parade... no, I don't. I love doing that, at least if it's a fascist parade... but anyway, this bill is almost certainly unconstitutional. The wonderful Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for free speech and equal access online, explains the constitutional flaws of the bill in this May 5 piece, posted a little over two weeks before DeSantis signed it into law. Following a brief history lesson regarding a similar-in-spirit bill from nearly 50 years ago, the writer nails the real reason for the current legislation.

...you might wonder why the Florida Legislature would pass a law doomed to failure, costing the state the time and expense of defending it in court. Politics, of course. The legislators who passed this bill probably knew it was unconstitutional, but may have seen political value in passing the base-pleasing statute, and blaming the courts when it gets struck down.

Politics is also the reason for the much-ridiculed exception for theme park owners. It’s actually a problem for the law itself. As the Supreme Court explained in
Florida Star v BJF, carve-outs like this make the bill even more susceptible to a First Amendment challenge as under-inclusive.  Theme parks are big business in Florida, and the law’s definition of social media platform would otherwise fit Comcast (which owns Universal Studios' theme parks), Disney, and even Legoland. Performative legislation is less politically useful if it attacks a key employer and economic driver of your state. The theme park exception has also raised all sorts of amusing possibilities for the big internet companies to address this law by simply purchasing a theme park, which could easily be less expensive than compliance, even with the minimum 25 acres and 1 million visitors/year. Much as Section 230 Land would be high on my own must-visit list, striking the law down is the better solution.

The EFF piece acknowledges, as I have myself in previous blog posts, that there are real issues that need to be tackled regarding Big Tech's control over public conversation. I think most of us have experienced firsthand the confusion and frustration of being arbitrarily warned, suspended, or even banned by one of the social media platforms for a minor or accidental infraction, when others continue to get away with posting offensive or hateful or bigoted or threatening content. Or maybe, like me, you've reported offensive or threatening content to the platform and have been informed that it doesn't violate their community standards.

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that a few years ago, I was receiving harassing messages and emails as a direct result of a series of Facebook screeds posted by the notorious Leonard Coldwell, in which he falsely accused me of killing his favorite dog (!). He published my home address and cell phone number, the latter of which he could only have gotten from a mutual former friend of ours, or from an inquiry I had sent to the Mount Pleasant, SC police department regarding a police report about Coldwell (I never received a response from the PD, but later found out that my inquiry, address and all, became part of that report).

Along with the doxxing, Coldwell openly invited his followers to get in touch with me directly and let me know exactly what they thought about my vicious act. It was his lame and cowardly attempt to silence me, by inciting his followers to do his dirty work for him, because he was angry about the blog posts I had written about his quackery, scams, and general awfulness.


People were threatening to burn down my house in the middle of the night, and they were holding public discussions on Coldwell's Facebook page about all of the things that should be done to me as punishment for killing the dog -- shooting me, poisoning me, slowly torturing me to death...oh, yes, I got to read all of those sick and twisted fantasies posted by the sick and twisted followers of a sick and twisted man. Coldwell also posted some graphically detailed -- and false -- allegations about me sexually harassing him.
I was blocked from participating on his forums so I couldn't even defend myself.

I reported these posts to Facebook... and Facebook said the posts didn't violate their community standards. Nice. Ultimately most of the posts were taken down, but some still remain.

So yeah, there's a lot that needs to be worked out with the tech giants; they do need to be reined in. A good starting place:
The Santa Clara Principles On Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation, which the EFF and numerous other non-profits came up with a few years ago. It's a reasonable basic guideline.

But unconstitutional laws like Florida's SB 7072 that pander to right-wing lunatics and whiners are not the answer to this problem that affects every one of us -- conservative, liberal, or apolitical.

Update, 2 July 2021: On Wednesday, June 30, a federal judge blocked this new law from going into effect July 1. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction via a 31-page order, citing SB 7072 as unconstitutional and discriminatory. From the Miami Herald:

Calling it “riddled with imprecision and ambiguity,” a federal judge Wednesday blocked a new state law targeting social media behemoths such as Facebook and Twitter that can strip politicians and other users from their platforms.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction as he sided with online industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which filed the lawsuit challenging the measure pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by Republican lawmakers this spring.

“The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal. Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate government interest,” Hinkle wrote in Wednesday’s 31-page order.

Hinkle directed the state to suspend implementation until a final ruling on the lawsuit is released. He made it clear that he knows this law is politically motivated, and took several swipes at it during a hearing on June 28, saying to lawyers representing the DeSantis administration, "I won't put you on the spot and ask you if you've ever dealt with a statute that was more poorly drafted."

Of course, like most stories in both Scamworld and politix, this one has no neat and tidy ending, at least not yet. The right-wing whiners, led by Governor DeSantis and others, have no intention of giving up the battle. DeSantis is confident the state will prevail in the lawsuit. If it does, that will set an appalling precedent.

* * * * *
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9 comments:

Sarah Barendse said...

It has been years Connie. You are still following me around online? Don't you have anything better to do? I think your opinions are insane and you feel the same about me... So really, can't we just be adults and finally part ways? SMH... this is pathetic. But I guess that's about the tone of the country right now under our fake ass commander and cheat, so what should I expect from a liberal.

TH in SoC said...

Hello Connie,
Appreciated your post. The Rethuglicans (and other powerful white supremacists in the USA) have seen the erosion of their power to stomp on the rest of the world. The disastrous presidency of Donald Dump was part of their reactionary "answer" to this erosion. Their attacks on the right to vote and the right to free speech are another part of this reaction. They consider American society to be a game in which they have seized enough power to make all the rules, and by which they can turn everyone else into losers. The key to their undoing is for the rest of us to stop playing that game and to make up our own game. If we withdraw our cooperation, patronage, dependence, and support - collectively, massively, and for long enough - their game will collapse. I for one have not bought anything from Home Cheapo in several weeks due to their refusal to condemn the Georgia voting law. It looks like I won't be visiting any theme parks anymore as well!

Cosmic Connie said...

Hi, there, Sarah, and thank you for commenting. I apologize for not publishing your comment earlier, but I just saw it today (June 17). No, I'm actually not "following you around online." Years ago I subscribed to your blog via email, and I happened to see your recent post celebrating DeSantis' signing of the tech law. It was consistent with right-wing attitudes I've been writing about since your idol Trump descended that golden elevator in 2015, so i used it.

That said, and as you know if you read my blog post, I too have had my issues with Facebook, some of which involved your buddy and mentor "Dr." C. And I have numerous "liberal" friends who have been suspended or banned by Facebook Twitter, et al. But the Florida law and others like it are not the proper (or constitutional) way to deal with the tech giants.

It's clear that you truly believe that Trump actually "won" the 2020 presidential election and that Biden "stole" it, and in that regard you're no different from millions of other egregiously misinformed (or willfully blind) Americans. I don't think you're insane at all -- just gullible. But for what it's worth, I still think you're a very talented artist and designer.

Cosmic Connie said...

Hi, TH in SoC -- good to see you here again. As I did for Sarah, I'll extend my apologies for not publishing your comment earlier. I only saw it today (June 17). Thank you for your words of appreciation, and also for nailing the problem about the Rethuglicans and their agony over the erosion of their power. I absolutely believe that the Trump "presidency" was at its core a reaction to the White Grievance Party's uneasy realization that the world is changing. More specifically it was in large part a reaction to the atrocity of having a.... gasp... Black man in the Oval Office for eight years. I dread to think what the "reaction" will be to having a Black *woman* VP. Horrors!

While I also agree with you about the need to withdraw cooperation/support/patronage, that of course is easier said than done. I do get a kick out of conservatives' whining about "cancel culture" whenever someone on the left even breathes a hint about boycotting a product or person... yet the right-wing whiners don't hesitate to boycott or protest products and people who offend *them.* (For the record, I refuse to patronize right-wing businesses such as Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A... but on the other hand I confess that I haven't boycotted Goya foods, because I love their Adobo and Sazon seasonings and their Mojo Criollo marinade... so I'm an imperfect resistor at best. :-))

I just wish that the Grievance Party folks would open their eyes and see that expanding the rights of others doesn't really take anything of importance away from them. But I don't think they'll ever see it that way. So they'll continue to fight for their rights to have everything, and to claw back any gains made by the marginalized.

Yakaru said...

Oh my God, Connie, that is horrifying.

I can remember when I first found your blog, maybe around 2008 or so, and thinking that as you're a woman, and your humour is so free of the cold cynicism and scorn for "gullible" victims of scams that skeptic writers usually display, that no one would accuse you of being "negative" -- which is what always happened to me (tragic, I know, but I have a broad back and nerves of steel!)... I really honestly thought that at least among spiritually oriented people, being a woman would protect you from people being impolite. I don't think I've led an especially sheltered life, but, yeh, I've had some stuff to learn this last decade or so.

The worst I ever had was a right supremacist who kept leaving nasty comments on my blog because he thought I was writing about James *Earle* Ray, not the other one. I tried to explain to him that James Earl didn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd be leading a sweat lodge -- not even a bogus one. He wouldn't listen though.

Anyway, I admire your courage, Connie.

Cosmic Connie said...

Hi, Yak! I am delighted to see you here; I deeply appreciate your longtime friendship and support. But I have to say that while my *humor* may be relatively free of that cold cynicism and scorn you cite (this was particularly true in the early days of my blog, which actually started out life as a humor blog), my straightforward commentary -- on political issues in particular -- is a different story. That commentary could be construed not only as negative but also, in some instances anyway, as scornful. I have completely lost my patience with those who continue to support Trump, for example. While many of them may be victims in a sense, the way cult members are victims, they pose a growing threat to American (and world) democracy. They *deserve* our contempt.

And frankly, I never expected to get a pass from hateful comments and actions just because I'm a woman. To the contrary: misogyny has always been a force in our culture, and the Internet has made it easier for cowardly misogynists to spread their toxins with impunity, often anonymously. Almost none of the comments I've gotten over the years have shocked me; I always figured that stuff was part of the package deal with writing a public and sometimes controversial blog. But some of the actual threats I've received have disturbed me, such as those that were deliberately incited by the loathsome psycho Coldwell, with whose "work" you're also familiar.

As for spiritually oriented people... well, way back before Trumpism fueled the political direction this blog has taken in recent years, I got a LOT of nasty feedback from the new-agey, conspicuously enlightened types who were so enamored of one of this blog's favorite targets, "The Secret." But years before "The Secret," and in fact long before I ever even knew what a blog was, I'd learned that the new-age (New-Wage) culture harbors some of the sickest and most vicious misfits one could ever want to meet, people whose anger was always seething beneath a thin veneer of "love and light." That doesn't mean there aren't good people too in this culture; there certainly are, and I count some of them as dear friends. But the point is that I don't have any illusions about "spiritual" people being more gentle or understanding or forgiving.

I don't know if this blog is courageous, but I do appreciate your saying so.

Cosmic Connie said...

I just realized an error in my reply to Sarah's comment, above. I made mention of her idol Trump's descent down a golden elevator back in 2015. What I meant to write was "escalator," of course, which Trump and his grim-faced trophy came down together as a contrived-dramatic prelude to his announcement of his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election. (Although I should also point out that Trump did, some time later, ride a golden *elevator* with the despicable Nigel Farage, infamous far-right fascist from the UK.) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/23/farage-trump-buddy-photo-ukip

Yakaru said...

Hi Connie.. Yeh, I should have made it clearer, that my perception of your humour being 'good-natured' etc., related to 2008, and sharing that I assumed people would give you a pass for being a woman was an admission of my own stupidity, ignorance, and some sexist assumptions I still hadn't let go of (and which no doubt are still prowling about down there in the subconscious). Funny how things I think but don't actually write fail to come across!

I remember just being glad to find someone who had found a way to criticise spiritual ideas rather than just dismiss them out of hand, and who didn't simply write off spiritual people / victims as gullible fools -- which is what the skeptic movement did. As a whole skeptics failed to deal with manipulative persuasion, often because they were trying to practice it themselves, (eg., ignoring or covering up harassment and worse).

I think I also thought I was being a bit too hard on New Wagers, and taking it all too seriously. You know, they're just a bit superficial and only waste people's time. The Secret horrified me though, but I couldn't quite figure out why -- until Ray started killing people. I would never have imagined that a Positive Thinking scammer as dumb as Tr*mp would get to be president though.

Cosmic Connie said...

Thanks for the clarification, Yak. My own attitudes have undergone several shifts in the time I've been covering this beat -- a period that, as I've mentioned, predates this blog. Believe me, there was a short time, just after I discovered the skeptic movement, when I was probably just as obnoxiously self-righteous as some of the most hard-core skeptics. That was my attempt to overcompensate for what I saw as my gullibility in my "new-age" daze. But I think I've since arrived at a more balanced perspective.

"The Secret" mostly amused and annoyed me until the Ray killings. That was a turning point for me and for my blog. In fact it was that incident that helped lead me towards a more compassionate view of "believers." Except for Trump believers, of course.

And I agree with you that a few years ago a Trump "presidency" would have been unimaginable, although the 1989 movie "Back To The Future 2" was eerily prescient. Biff Tannen, anyone?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2015/10/21/believe-back-future-predicted-trumps-run/74359844/