ATL Standard

As citizens across the nation grow increasingly concerned about having their opinions censored, Georgia lawmakers are considering action to limit censorship by social media giants.

According to a study by Pew Research Center, most Americans believe social media sites attempt to censor political viewpoints. The study found that 73% of Americans believe that it is very (37%) or somewhat (36%) likely that social media tech companies are intentionally censoring opinions they disagree with. Only 25% of Americans believe this is not likely. 90% of Republicans believe it likely that social media sites censor viewpoints.

NPR News reported that a Georgia House panel is deliberating on the best way to promote free speech on social media sites. Rather than ignoring the issue or imposing extensive regulations on sites like Facebook and Twitter, Georgia Republicans are adopting a nuanced approach that balances the first amendment and the rights of private businesses, NPR reported. 

State Rep. Chuck Martin said social media companies should not censor specific viewpoints, but he also argued that the government shouldn’t overstep its bounds when regulating private entities.

“This is just something that one has to look and be very careful that there’s not an overstep and be very careful that we don’t express our subjectivity over the top of another set of subjectivity,” Martin said, according to NPR News. “Because by doing that, we’re not making it any better, and we could actually be making it worse.”

By contrast, Iowa state legislators have taken a stronger approach to curb censorship and have passed a bill — SF 580 — which would revoke big tech tax credits and contracts with the government from any tech giants that restrict certain types of speech within their media platform, according to the Des Moines Register. Any constitutional and free expression that is not criminal, obscene, violent, pornographic or someone else’s intellectual property cannot be censored, lest tax credits be revoked.

"We have a bill before us that sends a message to these big tech companies that Iowans will no longer foot the bill for their feckless disregard of our Constitutional rights — the right to have freedom of speech, one of the most basic principles of this great republic," state Sen. Jake Chapman (R-Adel), one the co-sponsors of the bill, told Des Moines Register.

Another study by Pew Research Center shows that a majority of Americans (56%) believe that major technology companies should be more heavily regulated than they currently are, compared to 47% of Americans in 2020 and 51% in 2018. 68% believe that major technology companies have more power and influence than they should. 

The study also found that Americans who have heard more about debates regarding the regulation of tech companies are far more likely to support regulations against big tech than less informed individuals — 69% vs 42%.

The biggest jump in support for more regulation was among Liberal Democrats which jumped from 52% to 70% since last year. 

Moderate or liberal Republicans were the only groups that showed no statistically significant increase in support for more regulations.