A new Texas law has been passed by the appeals court that prohibits social media companies from banning users over their political views. The news was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit media organisation that states Texans about new policies, laws and statewide issues.
What Is The Texas Social Media Law
A federal appeals court reinstated a Republican-backed Texas law that will subsequently prohibit large social media companies to ban users over their political views. The decision ends up in a win-win situation for the Republicans as they have been on and on about these “violations” from the giant tech companies. They have vastly criticised Twitter for what they call anti-conservative bias as Donald Trump was banned from the social media platform. Trump broke some guideline rules of Twitter during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Who Tried To Block The Texas Social Media Law?
However, resistance came from two large tech companies such as Google and Twitter. These companies potentially asked their respective trade groups to block the law at bay.
Similarly, in December, a district court judge ruled in the favour of the groups and blocked the law. Reason being that the first Amendment protects a company’s right to moderate content.
House Bill 20 was passed down last year. It requires social media platforms with more than 50 million monthly users to publicly unfold information regarding account suspensions. The bill also asks for these platforms to disclose information on content removal.
If you have a viewpoint different from theirs, they want to shut you up. That’s not the American way, and that is not the Texas way.
Bryan Hughes
However, the Texas attorney general’s office claimed in a tweet during the uproar that the appeals court made the right decision. They further stated that it would continue to defend the Texas law.
Pros And Cons Of Social Media In Law Enforcement
Social Media is definitely providing a handful of information to the law enforcement departments. Some law enforcement officials claim that its rather easy for crime victims to state their situation on Facebook or Twitter rather than reporting it to the police. Similarly, Facebook has also helped immensely in breaking down important cases. Criminals have this urge to incriminate themselves through posts on Facebook.
Social media also played a rather vital role in the capture of one of the most dangerous terrorists. The terrorist planned on killing a group of military soldiers at an Illinois military installation. An undercover officer cheekily befriended one of the terrorists on Facebook. The officer somehow managed to know about their evil plans and they were able to arrest the evildoers before anything bad happened.
Social media also allows law enforcement officials to communicate with the public. For example Twitter – it can easily be a hub for a queries session.
