Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson-District 11) has reintroduced legislation that aims to help stymie social media’s censorship of Tennessee elections while preserving the first amendment rights of all Tennesseans in today’s online public square.
Senate Bill 0111 (SB0111), as introduced, designates social media platforms as common carriers and requires the entities to obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity from the Tennessee public utilities commission; prescribes fines against social media platforms that deplatform and shadow ban users based on political ideology, viewpoint, or personal animus, or discrimination based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 47 and Title 65.
Although not yet available for viewing on the General Assembly website upon publication of this article, Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro-District 26) has told us he will be sponsoring the legislation on the House side again this year in the 113th General Assembly.
Powers, who is the main architect of the bill, believes social media is the town square of our time and that social media companies are common carriers, just like a phone company or hotel chain, and they 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.”
As mentioned above, Powers’ House version of the Common Carrier bill has not yet been re-introduced for the 113th General Assembly but it was designated as House Bill 2369 in the last session with Watson carrying the Senate version with SB2161.
In the last session, HB2369 managed to pass in the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee, and the Commerce Committee but was then “placed behind the budget” in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on March 30th and eventually taken off notice on April 26th of last year.
In contrast, the legislature approved $500 million in bonds for a new Tennessee Titans stadium as part of a record $52.8 billion budget during the last session, a deal which will require $55 million in annual payments. However, Powers’ bill to help protect Tennessean’s First Amendment rights that came with a price tag of $100,000 was deemed too expensive and of less importance than millions in taxpayer dollars to fund a welfare program for billionaires.
Of note, Powers projected that the bill, if made law, would likely generate enough revenue through fees that it would pay for itself.
In preparation for a previous article we published on November 30th of 2022, The Tennessee Conservative reached out to key members of the Tennessee Legislature to ask if they will support the legislation in the committee and budgeting process during the 113th General Assembly.
On the House side, Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville-District 14) said, “I will 100% support (the bill) just as I did last year. I was a co-sponsor and worked with Dennis to pass the bill out of committee. I actually had a similar bill drafted but deferred to Dennis as I felt his legislation was less complex.”
Rep. Zachary also serves on the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee.
On the Senate side, Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27), Republican Majority Leader told us, “I supported SB 2161 last year and will again support legislation that ensures Tennessee citizens are not censured on social media platforms for their political beliefs. I appreciate Senator Watson and Representative Powers’ work on this important legislation protecting free speech.”
Senator Johnson also serves on the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee and the Commerce and Labor Committee.
Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28) also indicated his support stating that he believes freedom of speech should not be prohibited.
Senator Hensley also serves on the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee as the 2nd Vice-Chair.
In addition to the above, The Tennessee Conservative also reached out to House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally along with all the members of the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee, the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee; the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
None, but those quoted above, chose to comment prior to publication of the article in November and still have not replied to our inquiries to this date.
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
