Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) prompted a wave of cheers during his Monday press conference, which centered around his signing of the state’s Big Tech censorship bill, SB 7072, pointing to the cherry-picking nature of social media platforms that deplatformed the President of the United States yet continue to allow foreign leaders to openly speak about eradicating Jews.
“You’re a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump is now a resident in Florida, and he was deplatformed. Is this bill for him?” one reporter asked the governor, prompting an audible reaction in the room.
“The bill is for everyday Floridians is what we said,” the Republican governor began, adding, “But I do think that’s another issue.”
“When you deplatform the President of the United States but you let Ayatollah Khamenei talk about killing Jews, that is wrong,” he said, triggering extended cheers in the room:
Indeed, Twitter has come under fire for taking sharp action against former President Trump, beginning with restricting and removing his posts, while allowing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has essentially called for the genocide of Israel — calling the Jewish state a “terrorist garrison” — to continue to tweet. In May 2020, Khamenei used the social media platform to declare that the “long-lasting virus of Zionism will be uprooted thanks to the determination and faith of the youth”:
Last year, Twitter defended its decision, categorizing the Iranian leader’s instigative tweets as “commentary on political issues of the day” but failing to extend the same courtesy to the then-President of the United States.
“If a world leader violates our rules, but it is a clear interest in keeping that up on the servers, we may place it behind a notice that provides some more context about the violation,” a Twitter rep said.
“That it has happened for the Trump tweet, that tweet was violating our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line of that tweet and the risk that it could possibly inspire harm and similar actions,” the rep added.
DeSantis signed SB 7072 on Monday, which his administration claims will equip Floridians to fight back against Big Tech censorship. His office outlined the actions the measure takes against Big Tech platforms — particularly those moving to deplatform political candidates in Florida, imposing steep monetary fines. His office also claims the bill will allow the Florida attorney general to bring action against technology companies that violate the law “under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.” However, while the actions appear to be positive in nature, concerns remain around the enforceability of such measures.
“All of these are great ideas,” Breitbart News senior tech reporter Allum Bokhari wrote. “But without common carriage or public accommodation measures, it is highly doubtful that they’ll survive legal challenge.”