Tennessee Social Media Bill May Face Legal Obstacles Similar To Florida, Texas

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The Center Square [By Jon Styf] and The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Tennessee lawmakers pushing a social media oversight bill that would prevent users from being banned or shadow banned said it is not a First Amendment issue but a governmental course correction.

House Bill 2369‘s sponsor Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro-District 36) mentioned former President Donald Trump, the Knox County Republican Party and his cousin as people who were banned or censored for their political opinions. He said items defined as misinformation often are a matter of opinion.

“You may have been told some misinformation about this bill, and I just wanted to clarify that this is no growth in government and it’s protecting the free speech of everyone, all Tennesseans,” Powers said.

The companion bills passed the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee and the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee last week. The House bill is scheduled to be in front of the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday.

The bills would define a wide range of websites as social media platforms that are common carriers and then allow the Tennessee Public Utilities Commission (TPUC) to step in if Tennesseans are banned or shadow banned from a social media site.

The Consumer Services Division of TPUC would require social media platforms to register, and TPUC would create rules for platforms to follow regarding banning users and removing content.

If TPUC receives a complaint about a ban or shadow ban – which Powers described as moving content down in a search engine search based on its content – and finds it in violation of the law, TPUC would notify the platform of the infraction and allow 60 days to correct. If that is not done, TPUC would hold a hearing.

If TPUC rules in favor of the user, fines will begin for the social media platform at a rate of $100,000 a day if the user is a political candidate or public official or $25,000 a day for others.

“I very much appreciate what you are trying to do,” Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, said to Powers, mentioning the large potential fines. “I don’t think anybody would deny that it’s an issue. I just have concerns about the process. It’s just something where I think we need to be very careful and judicious about. … Anytime you give that kind of authority to one group, then you have to be very careful.”

The fiscal note on the bill said it would cost TPUC $323,800 the first year, which would begin Jan. 1, and $316,300 annually afterward, though Powers said the bill sponsors are in negotiations with the Tennessee attorney general and TPUC on a way to use existing resources on enforcement.

The vice president and general counsel of NetChoice, which successfully has been granted injunctions against similar laws in Florida and Texas on First Amendment grounds, claims, however, the Tennessee companion bills (House Bill 2369 and Senate Bill 2161) not only violate the First Amendment but also would cost taxpayers for the added regulation and legal battle that would follow.

“What we’re seeing right now is lawmakers in the state of Tennessee following in the same failed legal footsteps of Florida and Texas,” NetChoice’s Carl Szabo said.

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The injunctions in Florida and Texas are being appealed in federal court. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 28 in the Florida case and the week of May 11 in Texas.

The Florida law defined social media sites as common carriers, an entity that delivers all that it receives, such as the United States Postal Service, Szabo said, and the court disagreed with that notion.

“I am not very comfortable with this,” Tennessee state Rep. Dwayne Thompson, D-Cordova, said during the House subcommittee meeting. “We have a trend of government getting involved in private businesses and this just seems to be another one.”

The Senate version of the bill (SB2161) has been assigned to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee but it has not yet appeared on their calendar.

The House Bill (HB2369) has been assigned to the House Commerce Committee for March 22nd. 

Note from The Tennessee Conservative: Many good bills die in subcommittees and committees before they ever make it to the floor for a vote and any one of the subcommittees/committees that hear legislation can stop a bill’s progression to becoming law. If you support this legislation, contact the Republicans on the House Commerce Committee to voice your support.

House Commerce Committee Republican Members

Kevin Vaughan (chair) – rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1866

Rush Bricken (Vice-Chair) – rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7448

Rebecca K. Alexander – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Clark Boyd – rep.clark.boyd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7086

Kent Calfee – rep.kent.calfee@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7658

Jeremy Faison – rep.jeremy.faison@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6871

Kirk Haston – rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0750

Patsy Hazlewood-  rep.patsy.hazlewood@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2746

John B. Holsclaw, Jr. – rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450

Curtis Johnson – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4341

Susan Lynn – rep.susan.lynn@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7462

Eddie Mannis – rep.eddie.mannis@captiol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2287

Jerome Moon – rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5481

Dennis Powers – rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3335

Mike Sparks – rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6829

Greg Vital – rep.greg-vital@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3025

Jason Zachary – rep.jason.zachary@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2264

About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.