Senator Bradley Unveils Tech Accountability Bill
July 12, 2021
MADISON, Wis. — State Senator Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, unveiled a bill to hold Big Tech accountable on Monday, announcing on The Jay Weber Show on News/Talk 1130.
"It's time to ensure that Mark Zuckerberg and his Silicon Valley liberal allies cannot restrict Wisconsinites' political speech," Senator Bradley said. "Free expression is one of the most vital components of our democratic republic. We must ensure our citizens can engage in political speech unfiltered and uncensored by Big Tech. It's time for Facebook and Twitter to consistently and fairly enforce their own rules."
Under the bill, co-authored by Senator Steve Nass and Representatives Cody Horlacher and Calvin Callahan, Big Tech companies would be required to:
- Publish their moderation standards,
- Apply moderation consistently across all of its users,
- Give notification and an explanation for certain censoring actions, and provide annual notice of the types of algorithms used in content moderation, among other things, and
- Allow users to opt-out of an algorithm's post prioritization.
The bill also prohibits social media companies from censoring content by or about candidates in Wisconsin or elected officials. Doing so would allow a citizen to sue a social media platform that violates these provisions, with monetary penalties for de-platforming, as well as punitive damages and attorney fees.
Please see a copy of the bill linked here.