Image Credit: Blake Wylie / CC & Public Domain
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Two sets of Republican-sponsored bills that aim to prohibit social media platforms from censoring Tennessee residents are headed to Subcommittees and Committees in the House and Senate next week on March 14th, 2023.
Social Media Common Carrier Bill
House Bill 0682 (HB0682), sponsored by Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro -District 36), and Senate Bill 0111 (SB0111) sponsored by Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson-District 11) designates social media platforms as “common carriers” requiring them to obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity from the Tennessee public utilities commission.
The proposed legislation would fine platforms for shadow banning users based on their political ideology, viewpoint, or personal animus, or for discrimination based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin.
Rep. Powers, who is the main architect of the bill, believes social media is the town square of our time and that social media companies, just like phone companies or hotel chains, should not discriminate based upon political ideology.
Rep. Powers told the Tennessee Conservative, “Conservatives have long been censored by Big Tech and now more evidence has become apparent when companies have admitted working in conjunction with government organizations to censor information that may hurt political candidates in elections. This is a problem that Congress needs to solve because it has interstate commerce implications, but although they talk about revising Section 230, nothing has been done, so the states have to address the issue. Our solution will not prevent the issue, but it will give the victims cause for action and will hopefully, make Big Tech think twice before censoring Conservatives and also show Congress that it needs to step in and fight for our First Amendment Rights.”
Powers said of his legislation during the last session, “We wish the federal government would have dealt with this years ago, and they should have but because they have not, it’s gone back to the States. The States created the Federal Government, so we really have that obligation – if the Federal Government is not doing their job, we need to step in. This is going to be model legislation for other states. The Common Carrier Law is one that we feel has Constitutional muster, it’s the one that U.S. Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas said would work.”
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are scheduled to be heard on March 14th.
If you support this legislation, contact the House Subcommittee and Senate Committee members prior to their meeting.
House Business & Utilities Subcommittee
Clark Boyd – Chair – R – rep.clark.boyd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7086
Rebecca K. Alexander – R – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251
Jeff Burkhart – R – rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6804
John Ray Clemmons – D – rep.john.ray.clemmons@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4410
Bob Freeman – D – rep.bob.freeman@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0709
Michael Hale – R – rep.michael.hale@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2192
John B Holsclaw – R – rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450
Curtis Johnson – R – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov -(615) 741-4341
Pat Marsh – R – rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6824
Dwayne Thompson – D – rep.dwayne.thompson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1920
Kevin Vaughan – R – rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1866
Greg Vital – R – rep.greg.vital@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3025
Jason Zachary – R – rep.jason.zachary@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2264
Senate Commerce & Labor Committee
Paul Bailey – Chair – R – sen.paul.bailey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3978
Art Swann – Vice-Chair – R – sen.art.swann@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0981
Frank Niceley – 2nd Vice-Chair – R – sen.frank.niceley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2061
Raumesh Akbari – D – sen.raumesh.akbari@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1767
Jack Johnson – R – sen.jack.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2495
Shane Reeves – R – sen.shane.reeves@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1066
Steve Southerland – R – sen.steve.southerland@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3851
Bo Watson – R – sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3227
Ken Yager – R – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449
Social Media Consumer Protection Bill
House Bill 1504 (HB1504), sponsored by Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston-District 32) and Senate Bill 1299 (SB1299), sponsored by Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta-District 15) aims to require social media platforms to provide certain information about its content and data management, business practices, and acceptable use policy.
It also seeks to prohibit social media platforms from censoring the expression of a user who resides in this state based on viewpoint or geographic location and seeks to impose other related requirements and prohibitions.
The legislation requires social media platforms to publicly disclose how they manage data and content, including how they moderate content and how their algorithms work with regard to searches and ranking.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are scheduled to be heard on March 14th.
If you support this legislation, contact the House Subcommittee and Senate Committee members prior to their meeting.
House Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee
Dennis Powers – Chair – R – rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-
Jody Barrett – R – rep.jody.barrett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3513
Rush Bricken – R – rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7448
Karen D. Camper – D – rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1898
Jeremy Faison – R – rep.jeremy.faison@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6871
Johnny Garrett – R – rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3893
Susan M. Lynn – R – rep.susan.lynn@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7462
Mike Sparks – R – rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6829
Kevin Vaughan – R – rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1866
Senate Commerce & Labor Committee
Paul Bailey – Chair – R – sen.paul.bailey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3978
Art Swann – Vice-Chair – R – sen.art.swann@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0981
Frank Niceley – 2nd Vice-Chair – R – sen.frank.niceley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2061
Raumesh Akbari – D – sen.raumesh.akbari@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1767
Jack Johnson – R – sen.jack.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2495
Shane Reeves – R – sen.shane.reeves@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1066
Steve Southerland – R – sen.steve.southerland@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3851
Bo Watson – R – sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3227
Ken Yager – R – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
