Lake County

Florida lawmaker pushing for bill to stop ‘censorship’ on social media after President Trump suspended on Twitter

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lake County lawmaker is renewing attention to a bill he filed to stop what he refers to as censorship on social media after President Donald Trump was permanently banned from Twitter following violence in the U.S. Capitol last week.

The Stop Social Media Censorship Act, which was filed in early December, would prevent social media operators from prohibiting hate speech on their platforms.

READ: Chaos at the Capitol: House Democrats introduce article of impeachment, accuse Trump of ‘incitement of insurrection’

When Twitter made the announcement last week that it was suspending Trump’s account due to “the risk of further incitement of violence,” Rep. Anthony Sabatini tweeted that “Big-Tech just declared war on half the country.”

When he filed the bill, Sabatini said in a tweet that censorship on social media is “a threat to our Republic.”

READ: Chaos at the Capitol: Read article of impeachment against Trump

Click here to read Sabatini’s bill in full.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.