IndianaLocalNews

Fines proposed for social media sites that delete, limit posts

A House committee is trying to make an 11th-hour swerve to regulate social-media apps in Indiana.

Commerce Chairman Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) wants to fine Facebook, Twitter or other apps if they suspend your account, or delete or limit your posts. He describes those actions as “censorship” and an infringement of free speech.

Morris filed the proposal three weeks ago, but even fellow Republicans say they were caught off guard when it popped up for a vote with no notice or discussion. The agenda called for a discussion of Morris’s bill to gut Governor Holcomb’s pandemic restrictions — Morris says he’s abandoning that bill to make room for the social-media bill, through the legislative maneuver known as “strip and insert.”

The committee deadlocked 6-6 on moving the bill forward, with even most of the yes votes urging a fuller hearing before a final vote. Next Tuesday is the deadline for committees to send bills to the full House.

The bill calls for a 50-thousand-dollar fine against companies who limit a post made in Indiana or delete an Indiana user’s account.

Morris says he’s scuttling the original COVID bill because his concerns are being addressed in other legislation. A separate bill now exempts houses of worship from any emergency orders. Morris’s bill would also have prohibited any limits on business capacity or operating hours, exempted private schools, and declared hospitals can’t be ordered to pause elective surgeries.

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected attempts to go even further, by banning any business restrictions at all, and either capping emergency declarations at 30 days or eliminating the governor’s emergency powers entirely.

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3 comments

Sam Byer February 10, 2021 at 2:52 pm

How do we get the names of these people on this committee and find out how they voted? We don’t know if our reps voted our voices. Could be they are like that darling “Lizard Cheney”

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Charles U Farley February 10, 2021 at 3:08 pm

Conservatives: get on Gab.com
Leftists: Get more crayons and coloring books.

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Daily Show Prep: Wednesday, Feb. 10 - Casey Hendrickson - Radio Talk Show Host February 10, 2021 at 11:10 pm

[…] Fines proposed for social media sites that delete, limit posts […]

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