The North Dakota Legislature is introducing a bill that will stop media companies from censoring messages and posts and allow their citizens to sue Facebook and Twitter. Other states including Texas could also try, but South Texas College of Law-Houston's Josh Blackman says he's dubious. "this bill is probably not going to work. There's a Federal Law Communications Decency Act, that gives tech companies immunity from lawsuits. It was designed to allow tech companies to freely share information and avoid lawsuits from people who are not happy about them. Any state law that conflicts with state law is not valid."
Senator Cruz, Mark Cuban and Twitter
Blackman says it's a bold move, but it won't work because first, it conflicts with the Federal Communications Decency Act of 1996. And state law can't overrule federal law. "There's a second problem: When Twitter and Facebook put information online they are practicing speech. You may not like it - but it's THEIR speech. Any state law forcing Twitter to host their own content would actually violate Twitter's first amendment rights." Blackman says he's sure it couldn't work in Texas either.
North Dakota Representative Tom Kading sums up the effort by saying, “It's just wrong to ban a sitting president.”
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