DeSantis White House bid: Here’s a look at the Florida governor’s stance on Big Tech

On Wednesday, Ron DeSantis, the 46th governor of the US state of Florida, officially tossed his hat in the ring for the 2024 presidential elections. The Republican lawmaker announced his candidature via Twitter Spaces, where he “melted the internet”, as David Sacks, who was hosting the event, remarked.

DeSantis’ decision to announce his presidential bid through a social media platform such as Twitter is an interesting one, given the Florida governor’s vocal opposition to Big Tech and social media companies.

ETtech takes a look at DeSantis’ stance on Big Tech and social media, as he gears up to challenge Donald Trump in the upcoming Republican primaries for the 2024 elections.

Curbs on Big Tech censorship

In May 2021, DeSantis signed a bill barring social media companies from blocking political candidates. The bill also made it easier for Florida’s state attorney general, and other individuals, to take legal action against social media companies if they thought the companies had acted unfairly.

The move reportedly pandered to his conservative votebank, where censorship is seen as a major political issue and many are against tech companies censoring their views on social media.

The law enables the state to fine large social media companies $250,000 a day if they remove an account of a statewide political candidate, and $25,000 a day if they remove an account of someone running for a local office.

“Many in our state have experienced censorship and other tyrannical behaviour firsthand in Cuba and Venezuela. If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favour of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable,” DeSantis said at the signing of the bill.

Digital Rights bill

In February, the Florida governor announced the Digital Bill of Rights, aimed at protecting Floridians from ‘Big Tech surveillance’.

According to a document that introduces the bill, the legislation will ensure a set of rights to Floridians, including the right to have private, in-person conversations without Big Tech surveillance, the right to know how search engines manipulate results and the right to control personal data.

The bill particularly targets Google and other search engines operating in Florida, mandating them to disclose if they prioritise search results based on political or ideological views.

Earlier this month, DeSantis banned Chinese company ByteDance’s Tiktok from schools and government networks, something he had promised in the Digital Rights bill.