Pennsylvania bill looks to end ‘control’ social media has over you: ‘Unfair censorship’

HARRISBURG, Pa. ( WTAJ ) — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be introducing new legislation to combat “unfair censorship,” when it comes to your social media.

The legislation , created by Representative Marla Brown (R-Lawrence County), highlighted two points of concern when it comes to censorship and social media platforms.

First, the legislation aims to prohibit social media platforms from “unfairly censoring” users and journalistic enterprises. Second, it looks to restrict Pa.’s ability to “control or compel” influence on social media platforms to censor user comments.

While social media platforms have made attempts to combat hateful or abusive messages online, the legislation argues that these “policing” measures have been met with stern criticism. Many claim that attempts to “censor” have been inconsistent, ineffective, politically based or improper, according to the legislation.

Brown also argued that determining what constitutes speech as “harmful” or “unacceptable” is subjective and creates a “chilling” effect, which can in turn cause individuals to become “fearful” of expressing themselves freely.

“It is far too common for individuals to falsely or deceptively accuse others of peddling in ‘hate speech’ for merely expressing a difference of opinion. Unfortunately, this tactic often proves effective in squelching opposition and silencing dissenting voices,” Brown wrote in her memorandum.

In January 2021, Former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter over what the platform cited as repeated behavior that violated the company rules. In a statement released by the company , Twitter said that after a review of Trump’s content and how it was being received and interpreted, they had decided to permanently suspended his account.

“We made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement,” the release stated.

This ban came before the social media company Twitter was bought by Elon Musk and renamed “X.”

In October 2020, both Twitter and Facebook took, what Brown called “highly controversial,” steps to allegedly curb the sharing of news articles relating to emails written and received by Hunter Biden.

“The deliberate suppression of this significant and important story was viewed by many as an obvious attempt to protect Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden from reports that could damage his campaign,” Brown wrote. “Subsequent media reports further fueled suspicions that government officials improperly exerted influence on these companies to limit the spread of the story.”

Without clear legal boundaries, Brown further stated that government entities and social media platforms may seek to “exploit their authority” to silence dissent, control narratives and suppress political opposition under the “guise” of “maintaining order.”

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